The Gift and the Curse

10 minutes ago

He waited to see if any of the WAL members were in his sight. At first he would have been reluctant to react but this was something that he felt needed to be done to save the world. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure moving. By only turning his head he looked behind him and it was his friend Ripcord with sword in hand ready to fight by his side in Mobb Deep fashion. That was until the situation became a lot more complicating when the thunderous voice that brought them there began to speak again…….

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation.Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.

A catastrophic rumble shook the Earth. The sky turned to fire and it an apocalyptic looked was in the surroundings. Then it all changed, it became so dark that Kurrent could not see his teammate or even his own hand in front of him. The hero that came onto the battle with a stride was now very weary of the things to come…

Now

In a blink of an eye everything was different. People walked that streets and the city of had a bit of a dark feeling to it. In disbelief he looked turned to Ripcord and asked “What the hell is going on man”  with a confused look on his face then he said “try and get the team on the communicator I’m going to check around and ask some of these people what is going on”.

He walked across the street and towards a lady and her daughter and asked “excuse me ma’am, have you noticed anything weird going on around here as of late”. The woman grabbed he daughter tightly in fear and began to yell uncontrollably “HELP, HELP……it’s a hero, somebody HELP” .“What the Fu@k” said Kurrent in disbelief at what he was hearing. “Are you kidding me I just asked you a question” By this time the woman had a tenacious grip on he child and an as she saw what appeared to be an armed guard coming she began to point at Kurrent and say “HIM, it's him he is the filthy hero”

Taking Kurrent by surprise the guard tackled him. He was strong not like any regular rent a cop. They struggled for a few seconds rolling on the ground until more showed up in a van. Ripcord was nowhere to be seen and the other guards that showed immediately jumped out with batons in hand. The larger of the two in the van helped the one that was struggling with Kurrent to hold him down. He didn’t dare use his powers because of the woman and the child and his heroics cost him dearly. The smaller man that came out of the van took his baton and smashed Kurrent over the head knocking him out cold.

When he woke he found himself in front of the museum locked in wooded gallows like the ones used in medieval times. The museum seem to become a complex of torture because in the opposite side was another set of gallows mounted on the ground. A crowed was formed around the hero with people scream demeaning remarks at him. His head ached from the hit with the baton and his back was still bothering him. Still gathering his thoughts he could not make out what was going on until. The large guard calmed the crowd as he began to speak….”This ladies and gentlemen is what happens to HEROES around here”

He approached Kurrent with a burning branding iron in hand and again spoke after spitting in his face. “HEROES get marked like cattle around here” With both hands he took the hot end of the iron and pressed it against his face as the crow cheered him on.  The guard kept it on there for about 40 seconds but it seemed like it was forever for Kurrent who was enduring the pain. After it was done, Kurrent passed out again from the pain of the burn that left the mark of the letter H over his left eye to represent that he was a hero but not before hearing the guards mentioning that he was going to some sort of camp.

Ronin watched as his teammates worked together in a flawless attempt to bring down the fastest man alive. After an amazing display of cooperation the dragons accomplished what they set out to do seeming to stop the man only known as zoom. but their attempt quickly dissolved as Ronin glanced out of the right side of his vision seeing zoom digging and clawing at the remains of a destroyed building in a feeble attempt to rescue his fallen teammate RL. Ronin looked around quickly at his team as they all caught each other's eye's almost talking telepathically readying their next and what would most likely be their final attack on the destructive duo. Ronin devised a plan with his teammates almost through hand signals and looks alone. The dragons were now ready for their final attack on zoom hoping that this time would be the end of the fastest man alive. Just as the dragons began to attack they were suddenly stopped in their tracks as a massive voice echoed through the air.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation. Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species

suddenly reality began to twist around the dragons almost like they were being sucked in a black hole. Then pressure almost drove Ronin insane as his surrounding’s begun to morph around him. Suddenly the sound of cars zooming down the road filled the air. When Ronin reopened his eye's he could see he was laying on the ground still holding his ears. Ronin had seemed to regain his hearing as he could hear horns honking all through out the massive city. As Ronin began to look around sitting on his knee's people passed him by like he was a lawn ornament not caring if he was hurt or not. Ronin began to look around as he pushed himself up to his feet. Things had changed that was for sure. The streets were backed up with bumper to bumper traffic and the sidewalks were filled with humans walking down the road.

Ronin slowly began to take a few steps forward as a familiar scent passed his nose. Ronin could never forget that smell. The smell of the one woman that had ever bested him in battle and the first time he had ever met a soldier much like himself. Quickly Ronin began to look around turning his head from side to side. The scent was faint due to the horrid smell of the big city. The smog often messed with his sense of smell but this just meant that she was close by. After a quick scan round saw his teammate and fellow soldier leaning up against a building in a alley way sitting on the ground still taking in what had just happened. Quickly Ronin rushed over to her side snapping his fingers in front of her face. "COME ON RISKY come on you with me" he said as he continued to snap his fingers in front of her eye's Ronin smiled as she answered him but he quickly placed his hand over her mouth as he watched a fellow hero began to approach a civilian.

Ronin watched from afar sticking to the shadows in the alley way. Ronin could see the leader of mobb deep approaching a female and her child. Ronin could tell something was different as he could feel the hatred in the air. with his enhanced hearing Ronin could hear the conversation between the electrifying one and the female human. Excuse me ma’am, have you noticed anything weird going on around here as of late”.  kurrent said as he reached out to the woman trying to catch her attention.  Suddenly the woman grabbed her child up in her arms and began to yell.” HELP, HELP……it’s a hero, somebody HELP” .“. Ronin’s eye's widened as he heard what the woman said. could it be that the researcher gave the villains the one thing they really truly dream of and thats world domination and to have the humans forever hating hero kind ronin thought to himself.

“What the Fu@k”  kurrent yelled out. Ronin could hear the agitation in the heroes voice.” Are you kidding me I just asked you a question” kurrent said trying to reason with the woman as she held her kid closer. Ronin looked down at risky in disbelief. Sorry lucky but we got to get out of here Ronin said as he began to help her up. Quickly Ronin made his way over to a man hole reaching down to the ground and sliding it off of the hole it covered in the ground. Ronin looked over at risky saying lady's first as he pointed down toward the sewer entrance. Ronin waited for her to lower herself down the hole then he followed in suit at the last minute looking back out to the street and seeing kurrent being arrested. Ronin and risky were now in the sewers away from civilization.

"I don’t know what is going on risky but from the way i took in things we are going to have our hands full" Ronin said as he paced back and forth. the way i see it right now its just you and me I don’t know what happened to the others but we need to figure out what’s going on before we go back up there Ronin said stopping and staring at risky waiting for her reply. Ronin and risky would then spend the next few hours wandering the sewers until they found a somewhat large room that appeared to be an old abandoned underground train station. There were no other entrances than the one they took so they knew this would be the perfect place to set up shop. Ronin then talked to risky about what they were going to do and Ronin would eventually bring up a name that most had forgotten. "Risky we got to bring back the zero squad that name use to strike fear in the hearts of any villain that ever encountered them" Ronin said as he sat in front of risky on a milk crate. Ronin then devised a plan with his most loyal friend that would bring the villains to their knees.

Okay risky i got a list of people I want you to find Ronin said as he rubbed his chin. "I want you to search out our old friend Julia and her brother id imagine if they aren’t captured they would be either underground or hid out in an old abandoned building that rarely seen light". Ronin said as he stood up stretching his arm's. "guess that leaves me im going to go looking for an old friend i knew from the corp and also i will be looking for an old rivalry of mine im sure he will be up for a challenge." Ronin said as he picked his bow up off the ground and slung it over his shoulder. okay its probably going to be a good idea to blend in as much as possible so try to keep on the DL as much as possible. Ronin then turned around and made his way back out of the sewer. Ronin knew it wouldn’t be a good idea to walk around carrying a bow he would stick out like a sore thumb but he also knew he would need it if anything went down. Ronin was on a mission to find his old friend one shot and he had a good idea of where he could find him.

Quickly Ronin began to blink through the town until he came to a tall building overlooking the place where kurrent's branding will take place. Ronin looked on as they brought out the hero and began to place him in the Gallo’s. ronin watched for wind direction and yardage scouting out the best place to kill a man from without being seen. Suddenly Ronin’s enhanced vision seen a small reflection for just a second. Quickly Ronin BLINKED up to the window where he had saw what he was looking for. Ronin was standing in a small room that was almost blocked off from any light. he knew what he was looking for he had spent most of his life training for something like this. Suddenly Ronin took a step accidentally knocking over a cup. Just as fast as Ronin could catch the cup before it hit the floor Ronin heard the clicking of a pistol and he felt that dreaded feeling of someone aiming a bullet with your name on it at him. "ONE SHOT" Ronin whispered quietly just enough for the dark shadowy figure to hear him.

one shot stepped into the light staring at the unforgettable face of his fellow marine. i got a proposition for you Ronin said with a smirk on his face. You interested Ronin said as he too stepped into the light. Ronin would go on to offer last shot a spot on his newly reformed team. "I couldn’t agree with you more one shot about wanting to help kurrent right now but we got to stay on the DL as much as possible until we can get back to the hideout and devise a plan" Ronin said as he peaked his head out the window staring down at the branded hero. "Let kurrent be a martyr so we can rally the troops and bring down these villains once and for all" Ronin said as he reached his hand out. "so what do you say?" Ronin said waiting on the reply of his friend and ally.

"What do you say" Well I say he is nutz was the first thought in One Shots head.The Carbon fiber nine milometer pistol was still aimed at Ronin’s right eye. The smell of gun oil and metal filled the air as One Shot’s eyes looked onto the man in front of him. Ronin seemed at ease in One Shot’s presence and what the hell was he going on about protecting Kurrent for One Shot had been hired to blow anyone’s brains out who so much as looked like a hero heading towards that stage and here was Ronin his old friend from the marines dressed up like some bent ass crime fighter “what the hell are you talking about” One Shot’s finger was straining with the trigger. He had never been a hero or a villain before the change he had no idea of what was going on around him but here he stood in the middle of it all and Ronin had sought him out “I don’t know why you’re here Ronin but if they see you dressed like that they are going to string you up” One Shot holstered his weapon and began packing “I have a change of clothes in the back pack now while we move you can tell me what the hell type of trouble you have yourself in and how we can get you out of it.” It was a small room one window and one entrance it was great for a fight and a quick escape, Throwing his weapons into his carry case he pulled out the old jeans and t-shirt he used for cleaning his weapons and threw them at Ronin.

Opening the door he threw his duffle bag over his arm and looked back at his friend. They had severed with each other and knew each other like brothers so what the hell was he playing at showing up on one of his missions dressed like that. He was going to bring a load of shit to their door and in that thought he wondered if he should hand him in and get the reward and then a pang of guilt tugged at his stomach. “Im going to take this to the car, don’t be long my relief will be here soon get a move on and Ronin this is a hell of a way to say hi”. As he took of down the hall way his heavy boots seemed to warn anyone that he was coming he was not walking more marching to his four by four the bright neon lights above his head hurt his eyes. That room had been perfect for a few shots but adjusting to the light was a pain in the ass. Coming to the back fire exit he pushed it open but no alarm went off he had cut that in case of a full out brawl with the heroes coming to save Kurrent little did he know how events would really play out.

The ally was dark and damp, Well hey aren’t they  all. Opening the boot he threw in his duffle bag and waited on the so called hero and answers.

The House of L

In the center of stood a majestic tower with identical smaller towers all around it. Massive flags with a red letter F flapped lazily in the gentle breeze as battalion after battalion surrounded the towers on the ground. Tanks slowly rolled through the downtown streets and Ant-Aircraft guns mounted on top of nearby buildings kept watch over head. Even Sentinels stood guard outside the main gate protecting New New York’s Royal Family, the LeBeaus. All it took was a flash and when it was over the world had been turned upside down, handed to the villains on a silver platter. It was clear that the enigmatic Researcher had more power then most could even fathom. Easily manipulating reality as he saw fit, creating a virtual utopia where in which the villains ruled the world and the heroes where left to suffer. Punishment for defying the higher power during his little game of pitting team against team.

Not since the legendary Hellfire Club had one team held so much power. But now the Fraternity stood alone as thee single authority in this new reality. Florian and his band of assassins where continually on a mission to track down and imprison every hero left. Some where killed but most where shipped off to . The borough had been transformed into a superhero concentration camp named, “The Yard.” Almost the size of two football stadiums, “The Yard” was a massive doom which housed the heroes. Under constant surveillance and heavily guarded it was all but impossible to escape. A none lethal gas which prohibited anyone inside from using their powers and abilities was constantly pumped through the ventilation shaft. This allowed the prisoners to room free inside the doom.

Recently the electrifying leader of Mobb Deep had been captured and was in route to the Yard after being branded. The news couldn’t have come at a better time as the LeBeau’s where preparing for a grand banquet to celebrate the birthday of Gambler’s son Florian. Inside the LeBeau compound slaves where busy preparing the House of L for the nights festivities. Invitations had been sent out to all Fraternity members and those loyal to the House of L. Meanwhile Gambler himself walked along the cobble stone path in his lavish garden. He was now aged and with it, more powerful then ever before. No longer did he rely on his wits to defeat his opponents, his ability to manipulate kinetic energy had found new and unexplored heights. Even going so far as to allow the Cajun to levitate. His telekinesis was so strong that he had actually used it to build a statue in the center of , a tribute to the Fraternity.As he walked,his casual yet regal robe flowed behind him. Floating on either side of him where his grandchildren Dias and Rose. The Living Legend was able to sustain their flight with no effort at all, it was now as natural to him as breathing. Even his arm had been restored. Gambler seldom left the towers anymore as he had stepped aside and let his son run the Fraternity. He was now mostly just a figure head, and he couldn’t have been happier. Yet even with the world now under the control of the villains the Cajun couldn’t let go of the fact that he was still a pawn in a god’s game of manipulation. The prideful King of Kings was nobody’s lap dog and would be in no man’s debt, god or no god. But  for now he would sit back, bide his time while the heroes of the world where hunted down.Looking at the smiling faces by his side the seasoned villain smiled back and asked,

“Would you like to see something special?”

The children’s ruby red eyes began to gleam  as they shuck their heads yes. Suddenly Gambler and his grandchildren began to elevate up into the air, higher and higher until they where as high as the tallest point of the tower. From this height they could almost see everything. The Yard, the Children’s Museum,which had now been turned into a which displayed the false account of the battle that had taken place there. Even the Statue of Liberty had been erased and replaced with a statue of Gambler. They gazed out over the city before Gambler placed his arms around their shoulders,

“All dis belongs to our family. To your father and dee House of L. And someday it will belong to you.”

He then took a deep breath of satisfaction before descending back down into the garden. His deepest desires had been made into reality, he had been giving everything he had ever dreamed of and more. All the villains and those loyal to the villains had received the same gift. Their most valued dreams turned into reality and bestowed upon them. But for how long? Gambler was no fool and knew that the remaining heroes would fight to the death in order to restore the world and bring back order and stability.

“A war tis coming, a war we must win”

HELL

How long had I waited for this chance to sit on this throne and rule the whole of the underworld nineteen years I sat under him as he spat at me and used me as his play thing, But not anymore here I am King of hell my father is gone and his Queen is captured. But my Victory is empty I did not get to fight him in a grand battle nor did I get to use any of the steps I had taken to give me my victory no this was just given to me by some great being who had a hissy fit cause someone spoke up to him, I don’t want this not this way I want my father to bleed on my shoes as I stand over his bloody and broken body. To show that women he cares for what fear really is as I tear his body limb form limb. But where has he gone he knew this was coming and he vanished who side is he on what does he plan on doing, I hate him so much how can he have foreseen this when none of us knew “I REFUSH TO BELIVE HE IS THIS GOOD”.

Luncin voice bellowed around hell as he screamed at his father no one had seen nor heard from Final Arrow as the world changed around them he had remained hidden from this game. But now his son sat on the throne of hell could he allow this to continue where was this great beast that so many had be told to fear, Where was all his power now that his son resided in his chair and what could he do to get it back, All these thoughts were running in Luncin head the great warriors son sat lonely in his throne , Had this been what he had wanted all along his father gone from the world maybe that was it maybe that’s why Final Arrow was no more, But was it what he wanted now to be alone with out a father or a mother, His sister Luna was no doubt missing as well. With all this power now finally at his finger tips he found himself not wanting it and looking back on the days when he was just a runt the underdog of the Arrow house hold, Throwing cards and laughing at those who had power.

Waving to a small daemon “I wish to speak to the House Of L the son not the father” Luncin would go back to the only place he considered home , The one place where he had always been welcomed and not shunned because of his lack of power he needed to see the son of Gambler and find out what his plans where and how the new lord of hell could help, Then a small smile came across his face , Will we all turn into our fathers is that the destiny that lies before each and every child, to follow in the steps and mistakes of the ones that came before us . Not him he would break that spell standing from his throne he walked to a place he had only heard about and looking on the Fallen face of Lucifer he smiled “Im going to give it all up and it will all be yours again . On one condition that I may ask anything of you at anytime and you dear angel will give it to me” and with that Lucifer was reborn once again and hell was his to rule.

He sat there waiting for Mantoid to awake. He stared down at face as it glistened in the light. He looked around at the world he once called home. In an instant everything began to blur in his eyes. He looked back to Mantoid but he could not see her. He shook his head in frustration. He could not give a clear description on any of these sights. He pounded his adamantium gloves on the hard ground, as his fist knocked cement everywhere. What the hell was going on? Was it one of the other teams members messing with his vision? He used his psionics to detect any intruders but oddly enough he found no one in 20 miles of him. All he could do now was hope that Mantoid was better from his healing. But for now he would need to get on the move. Still in major mode of frustration he crawled through the itchy grass plants. He did not stop shaking his head back and forth. He could only hope that that will better his sight. He may have been powerful but nothing like this ever crossed his mind. Without sight he could do nothing. He immediately stopped his excessive crawling and rolled on the ground face pointed towards the sky.  He then heard the researcher speak in the thunderous voice once again.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation. Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species

He closed his eyes for a quick second and everything had changed. Now there was a sun in the sky and there seemed to be a building on each side of him. He knew that what The Researcher said must have been true. Otherwise how could he possibly end up here? He rose from the ground quickly dusting any trash off of him. He could see he was in one of the dirty alleys of New York City. Luckily he had a rental home here in the city of New York. He had lived there for several years. Hopefully he could dig up an image of his room so he could teleport there. He dug deep in his mind for any photographic memory of his room. Fortunately for him he fond one. With in the next second he teleported. He found himself lying across his bed. This apartment had been abandoned for months. Well that’s what it seemed like from all the dust that stuck to the wall, as thick as books. He lifted his foot into the air as he kicked in the room wall. No one would think about anything being back there so it must have been something secretive. Ruin reached his hand in there and slowly pulled out a large red soup case. This was his favorite outfit for public events. It was a biker outfit that he spent million s on form some rich guy. He removed his current outfit and replaced it with the one in the luggage bag.

He then moved over to a large mirror. He was wearing a thin bulletproof bikers vest, with leather pants. He bent down as he began to tar on small belts down each of his legs all the way down to his iron boots. The small belts he had strapped to his legs were not just for design, they were mad with thick iron, to make the impact of his kick harder. He then slipped on a air of leather gloves. These gloves were much thinner than his other ones, but they still packed a punch due to the adamantium patches on it. (My new profile pic basically).  He squeezed his fist as he sent a furry of kicks through the air, as he tested out his gear. He could maneuver better with this outfit because his other gloves weighted about 12 tons. He teleported himself to the entrance of the apartment and used one axe kick to bust all of the wood that had been nailed there. Once he was outside he studied his surrounding. He walked across the street and jumped on a nice motorcycle. He wasn't much of a thief but this time he really needed it. As he threw his leg over the motorcycle, he used his psionic detonation to start it up. He drove off as quickly as possible.  He cruised through this city for about an hour, before he saw something that made his stomach ache.

Excuse me ma’am, have you noticed anything weird going on around here as of late”.  Kurrent said as he reached out to the woman trying to catch her attention.  Suddenly the woman grabbed her child up in her arms and began to yell.” HELP, HELP……it’s a hero, somebody HELP”

What the hell was going on? Everything Researcher said was true. The villains really ran everything here. Well that was going to have to change. In an instant he swerved his motorcycle and turned on the next corner. He found himself in a long line of luxury vehicles. He knew where he was going. It was a casino for only the richest people. He watches as a man walked up to every car and asked something. What the man was saying he could not decipher. Soon the man would be speaking to him. He only hoped that he could convince the man he was a villain. He analyzed the area of cars. It had to be about two dozen cars. To get in this casino/club you would have to be a top dog. Soon enough the guard made it to Ruin.

Sir, may I see your proof of villain registration.

Dam! What the hell was he going to do? He had to think quickly. If they found out he was a hero, he would have a big problem on his hands. He had seen how the lady treated Kurrent. Now a soldier was speaking him to with large guns in his hand. This got better every second. He thought in sarcasm. If he tried to kill this guy here and now, someone would sure try to kill him. Then it hit him, as if fate had gave him this idea for a reason. He flexed his large muscle in front of the guy. As the muscle enlarged a V could be seen. It was a tattoo. Hopefully he could convince the soldier that the tat stood for villain, when it really stood for Vendetta. After a second of analyzing the soldier nodded as Ruin drove off. Ruin glared back at the soldier and winked, before shooting him a bird. As Ruin parked his bike he entered the extravagant casino. As he entered, people were playing pool, black jack, and anything else you could gamble on. He did not stop. Instead he continued down a flight of stairs. They were twelve of Gambler’s best businessmen. He had locked them up many times in the normal world. Before entering he heard them speak of Lebeau family As he kicked down the door and drew two of his 44 magnums the lead council yelled.

Its Ruin Cross. I thought he was dead!

Ruin ran up the wall as he fired three bullets. One in each head. As he landed on his feet he fired nine more bullets as he finished off the rest of the council. There were large amounts of blood dripping from the walls. Guts laid waste in the room. He blew the smoke from his guns before speaking to himself.

Flawless.

He exited the room and went back up to the casino section. He could see that it had been too loud for anyone to hear the gunshots. He tried to wrap his mind around what he heard. Just great Gambler was up to dirty deeds once again. To the heroes Gambler was public enemy #1. And now he was starting to make sh!t personal. As he exit the casino he leapt back on his bike as he drove off. He knew there was only one place to go when he was in need of shelter. Before the Fraternity was organized his mother used to lead one of the baddest assassin guilds in the USA. He knew that that was the place he needed to go. There he could gear up on better weapons. Even though the place had been abandoned for years, he was the only one with the key. His mother gave it to him before she died. Every since that day he wore it around his neck. He drove his motorcycle to a large building. The old assassin guild base was below ground. But he decided he would wit till he got back up. He hit the button on his com link as he spoke.

Ruin to Mobb. Do you copy? If there are any hero survivors please report to 75 longitude and 45 latitude. Immediately. We need to figure out what we are up against.

The sun shines though the window deluxe suite at the Plaza Hotel, the home of the Fraternity's Golden Knight. The time runner known as Zoom. Keith Anderson, Zoom's alter ego awoke in this large king size bed with three super models laying across him.

"What a night i must of had...." Keith says as he yawns, and stretches out. His eyes open wide as he notices that his body isn't moving in and out of time. He pushes the girls off him and jump to his feet along side the bed.

"Oh man, oh man his is so SSWWEEEETTT." Keith takes off, doing a lap around his deluxe suite as super speed.

"The last thing i remember, was being attacked by three of those candy@$$es from the Ice Dragons. I barely made it out of there, I must have tapped deep into my power to pull  that crazy sh!t off. The loser Lantern shoulda got off his @$$ and helped me out a little. Now it seems that i have better control over my powers as an added bonus." Zoom glances over to the table and sees a book with his face on the cover. Leaving the Drama Behind an autobiography of Keith Anderson. The Zoom Story.

To the naked a eye, it would have seemed like Zoom hadn't even moved. But he had read the book and a ran uptown, getting the lay of the land (all with his goodies swinging around). He ran thru "ZOOM SQUARE" (a remodeled version of Time square) now dubbed the Fastest Moving Tourist spot in the US. The Cabs were all paint yellow and red. The giant titan ton was now shaped like a lightning bolt. The tour bus were packed with people dressed in yellow suits with Zoom insignia on them. Two world class restaurants "Speedos'" and "La Rush" with waitresses named "The Fast Girls". This was a dream come true, Zoom was being thanked, like he felt he always should have been.

The Researcher, this must be his doing. The Golden Speedster thought to himself as he pass thru The House of L's main hall.

"Whoa, if i wasn't moving at this speed Gambler would kill me for doing this." Zoom arrives back in his suite a factor of a Milli second after he had left. He laughed, waking the girls.

"Don't worry ladies, I'm coming back to bed." Zoom heads to the left side of the bed and picks up a photo off his night stand. It a picture of Zoom's last birthday, thousands of people standing outside of the "Zoom Museum" in his home town of San Diego, California. A party invite was also on his stand for the Fraternity. It was going to be a fun night.

"Yeah i think, I'm going to like it here" he says as he climbs back into bed.

He was right in the middle of a vampire slaughter when suddenly the ground shook. Please I don't know what your talki.... I shot him in the head and as he turned to ash a thunderous voice echoed through the sky.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation.Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.

He looked at the sky as it twisted and turned. It began becoming darker. The ground shook under his feet again. "What the hell. Thats a new trick." Suddenly reality began to bend around him. He looked around  franticly. This was all happening so fast he couldn't think of what to do. He flew out of the twisted dimension hole and  was knocked out . He woke up about an hour later. "AH what the hell just happened. " He rubbed the back of his and looked around him. He was inside of an old abandoned pharmacy. The building was littered with flyer's that had pictures of hero's on them and beneath the picture was the words WANTED! DEAD OR ALIVE! He picked up one and saw a picture of his new leader Kurrent. He crumpled up the picture and threw it to the floor. He got up and stumbled out of the building. He saw an old man and walked over to him and said: "Sorry to bother you sir but could you tell me where I a......." He never got to finish his sentence. The old man swung at him with his cane and began shouting and pointing HERO ITS A HERO. Guards GUARDS!  He was dumbfounded. Thats usually the reaction villains get not hero's. "Easy buddy I don't mean you any harm. I just want to know where...." An electrified bullet shot into his arm. He shouted in pain and then ripped the bullet our of his arm. He turned and saw armed men running at him. They had him surrounded. "What the heck is this." "Your under arrest. Come peacefully and there will be no more bloodshed here." He looked at the guard who spoke to him. The man was a chubby man and wore a different type of outfit than any of the others.

"Sorry but I must respectively say NO! Now will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?!" The chubby man who spoke earlier smiled and said: "You foolish hero's you never do take the good offers. Thats fine I was hoping you would resist. Boys take him down." He looked around as the men began slowly walking towards him. He fingered his guns but then remembered that they were mere humans. "God why do I work to save these little chumps." He looked at the buildings around him and saw a fire escape. He ran at one of the men then right before the guard swung his baton Samuel jumped and kicked off of his head. He managed to put enough force to launch himself up so he could grab the bottom of the fire escape. He pulled himself up and looked down at the guards. The chubby man was cursing and waving his fist at him. "Better luck next time boys." Suddenly the fire escape began to give way. It fell from under his feet. He managed to grab the bottom rung of the fire escape and swung himself up to the next level. He jumped over to the ledge of the next building and pulled himself up. He ran across the building and jumped down behind the building in an alley. He took a deep breath then pulled out his radio. "Kurrent hello can you hear me? Hello? Kurrent whats your location."

Izaac, from a complete void, woke up with a terrible headache, and pain almost everywhere, and the Researcher's thunder voice ringing in his head.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation.Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.

When his thoughts became more clear, he removed his hands from his ears and opened his eyes. He could see buildings...a red sky, and unlike last time, the sun was present... He had problems remembering what had happened. He remembered being transported to an empty New York City to fight teams together with We Are Legend, he remembered warning the other WAL members telepathically for transmission tracking...and that he finally found WAL and offered teleporting them away...but from that point, his memory went blank. He had minor amnesia, almost everything else could he remember perfectly. He sent a telepathic call to his daemon, or psi-animal, Zoria. Zoria, can you hear me? Are you here? He got an answer, saying, I can see you. I'm on my way.

Just now his mind was clear enough to truly see where he is. He got a slight shock when he saw that he was actually standing on one of the few spaces on top of Chrysler Building. "Whoah..." He could then see Zoria approaching, in the form of a falcon. I'm here, she said. Any idea what has happened? he asked her. The Researcher. He must have trapped us here, an utopia for the Fraternity. I saw Kurrent down there...he was treated with extreme hostility, he was branded in the face! And the people were frightened when they saw him. I saw Ruin Cross some minute later...he was asked for villain registration, Zoria explained, with a strong tone of worry in her telepathic "voice". "Was he branded, too?" he asked her back, with a bad taste in his mouth. No...he showed a tatto on his arm, a "V". I could sense a bit of Ruin's intention...to make the guard think it stood for "villain". Risky trick, but it worked. "Well, I think we need something safer. But it's still a nice trick. Hmm...did you notice there are no US flags around? Only for the Fraternity? What if I can manipulate the pigmentation in my skin to make a tatto of the Fraternity 'F'..." It's worth a try. Izaac sat down on the hard space on the building, concentrating. He focused on the three things necessary to make a perfect spell. The symbol (elemental symbol of Earth), the specific means (biological manipulation), and finally, the intended result (making pigment assume the form of an "F"). It took a few seconds, but a red "F" was soon made visible. "Right. I could always remove it with a reverse spell." He looked down on his clothes for a second, a black and blue outfit with a coat with strange patterns in blue and a little green. "Maybe I missed a tiny little detail...the fact that this outfit could as well have a big sign saying "HERO" with giant blinking letters...I need something else...how about dark red instead of blue and green? I hope I remember that transmutation symbol from before we was pulled out of time/space continuum..." He concentrated again, this time focusing on the transmuation symbol, and changing the colors of his costume from blue and green to dark red. "There."

"So what do we do now?" See the city, we might find some other WAL members who could help, Zoria answered him. "Great idea." he said, with an almost evil grin on his face. He shut his eyes for a moment, visualizing the symbol of air, and the symbol of eternity. One for flight, and the other for stealth (by telepathic manipulation to not be noticed). He and Zoria jumped off the building, flying towards the north. When he got close to the airspace above Central Park, he saw something in the north end, looking like a statue. He got curious, and flew closer. He didn't recognize the statue. He read the text below.

The blast from LstPaladin the Ice Dragons resident Thunder God left the Renegade Lantern buried underneath the very building that he was sent through. Before the shocking hit Renegade Lantern was unstable and at a point to where he was uncontrollable. But it seemed that the strike from the mighty hammer knock some sense into the Renegade making him think rationally if he wanted to complete his ultimate goal of killing all of his former teammates that turned their back on him. As Zoom battled the members of the ICE team Renegade gathered his thoughts giving off the illusion that he was dead under his concrete tomb. After a few minutes he was ready and had a well thought out plan, the weaknesses of those ICE members were all calculated and it was time for The Renegade to get his redemption.

A jade forcefield surrounded his body and as began to maneuver from under the rubble of the building on top of him. He now had the same hunger for revenge but his mind worked now like it did when he was at his prime, maybe even better. He was deep under ground and as he turned to a vertical position he shot up towards the surface like a missile leaving its tube. As he got closer to land he could feel the Earth shaking at his sides but he was focused like never before and would not let an Earthquake slow him down. He turned up the power and forced his body to travel at a faster speed. Looking up at cracks in the ground he see lights that suddenly went black as he broke through the surface with explosive intensity.

He was now in an alley with a dark green cloak over his body sitting next to a garbage can on the ground. "Where am I, " he thought as he looked around trying to remember how he got there. When he stood he saw a familiar face in Ronin and a sinister smile came around his face. "He will lead me to the ICE Dragons and I will gut them all" said RL is a whisper as he saw ronin and a woman go into a sewer.

Keeping his cloak on he began to cross the street towards the man hole that ronin had went through and noticed that Kurrent was being detained. "We must be back in our time but why is that Hero getting arrested". He crossed the street slow putting his hand in his pocket when he felt an envelope in there. When he was safely across and on top of the man hole he pulled out the envelop which read of a party for the son of Gambler in the House of L.

Perhaps him being under ground and him using his powers clouded his memory but after he read the card he remembered the voice saying that the villains will be rewarded.  "Was this it is this our utopia was this what was deep down in my heart". He jumped inot the sewer and began to track where ronin had gone. When he heard voices he stopped and listen to what they were saying before making a move.....

"Risky we got to bring back the zero squad that name use to strike fear in the hearts of any villain that ever encountered them" was said by ronin and it was all he needed to hear for that was one of Renegade Lanterns deepest desire before he was consumed by vengeance, The Zero Squad succeeding. He was now a believer at what The Researcher can do and  his quarrel with ronin was now over.

He left the sewer searching his memory for any thoughts of killing the ICE Dragon members being that that was his deep desire right now but nothing came to thought. After careful deliberation his connection to the Fraternity would be the best option to get answer and to probably locate the ICE team.  Knowing Gambler, and if this was in fact a villains paradise he would have some sort of lavish accommodations  and after recalling the invitation again he saw The House of L on the flyer and just made a small grin.

He began to walk on the street freely now and looked around until he spotted a large majestic tower......"Looks like that is where the party is" he thought. From head to toe his clothing was changed after a green light shined around his body. The Renegade was now in a black pin striped suit with a green shirt underneath the coat the was unbuttoned at the top and he began to walk towards the lavish building in a hover with his hands interlocked behind his back.

A flash of light…. Nothing…. Eyes open…. Sight returns…..Ears hearing.

It had come fast, like a tidal wave of pure brightness equal to the power of a thousand sons. And then it was gone, as was the world he knew. No longer was he in the ICE Dragons headquarters, but some place familiar to him. Water was all around him, and as he turned around he saw the gate to the Mariana Trench. Behind it were monsters of all kinds kept prisoner there by him under the order of Poseidon.

 He was in a familiar place, but he was still not where he should have been. He swam up to the surface. In the distance he spotted a shipping barge and on the side was written, “Luxury of Lebeau”. It carried an unknown flag, one that had not been part of any country, but of a group. It was the Flag of the Fraternity. It was startling to know that the Fraternity’s shipping was able to move so freely, without an escort, and without any hindrance whatsoever.

 He had to rendezvous with the rest of his team, but after that flash, they could be anywhere on the planet. He began to make his way to the US east coast. He followed the currents and moved at unimaginable speeds. He rounded South America and made his way North to New York City. ICE had a safehouse there in case anything were to go utterly wrong. If he was lucky, Andferne would be there, and worse case scenario was that no one would be there.

 His fin moved through the water like a knife until he reached shore. He watched as his fin became legs and he walked onto the shore. He was in the right spot, but something was horribly wrong. In front of him he saw charred pieces of wood and rotten timber. A sign of something that was lost long ago. The safehouse was gone.

 He noticed something out of the corner of his eye. He approached it slowly, cautious of any booby traps that might have been set. It was Paragon’s uniform with his signature collar. His hands began to tremble, and a tear fell from his eye.

 Mer-Man glanced in the air to see 4 fighter jets fly over at low altitude. The noise of a tank’s treads came closer and closer to him. Behind him were 10 soldiers with their rifles shouldered and fingers on the trigger. Francis used his bioluminescence to let out a blinding light from his body. The soldiers shielded their eyes with their arms for several seconds allowing Mer-Man to escape unharmed. He had recognized their uniforms. They were members of the Fraternity.

 It was all making sense now. Some catastrophic event had changed reality. He could only assume that the light was the cause of it. He needed to find other heroes. It didn’t matter what team they were from. With his comrades in ICE Dragons scattered across the world or possibly killed, he had to link up with Mobb Deep or WAL and try to find a way to fix all that had gone wrong.

*Zee had been hot on the trail of his foe as he went at incredible speeds towards a huge water vortex. As smart as this dragon was he was a gluttony for getting tricked at times due to a high ego. This time he looked to pay the price. He was like a little kid chasing a ball into the street not even thinking of the ice cream man speeding to get to his late route. With his extremly good hearing however he heard a voice. This was no ordinary voice. No mere mortal mans voice could even project in such a way and be heard like that. It wasn't even another sound manipulator. It was a god. The only time a gods voice had ever been in such a way was in anger. This had caught his attention as he stopped in flight only to turn around and see him yelling out to the distance. This made him wonder only for a few seconds of what he could possibly be yelling about. Soon enough he'd find out as the sky changed, thunder roared for miles and destroying all in its path. So much damage in such little time. At first another though arose the god could be doing this to seek out all the villains.*

*The shots where to random. Another thought arose the god had gone mad. Something even he would give worry to. He wasn't moving around enough to destroy anything. His question all answered as a huge voiced boomed and he heard it quite well to. He figured it out. It was the very thing that brought them here for his large game of chess. He actually spoke out. Something he didn't think anybody but a god could do. He was right. He listened*

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation. Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species

*Soon enough Zee would take a last glimpse of all the chaos that had happened. It would seem as time slowed down as he peared at the god, his foe, the city in its terrible state then his sword. He'd feel quite a bit weird. All of a sudden a huge flash would start to emerge. It would appear all the way across the city. It was coming fast. He didn't bother to run or try and absorb the light. He already thought of the three options that could happen. Death, a new begining, or perhaps the past. He thought of the chances of death to be the best as he raised his head and dropped his sword. He opened his for arms out as the light came. It would pass through changing it all. As he would then open his eyes he looked around. Everthing seemed back to normal. It was quite the opposite. Zee would look around as he saw people where running in fear. He was amazed. He thought he might look as if he was one of them but no. He would start to spin in a small slow circle observing only to stop behind him as he saw a statue.*

*A site like this could almost bring a tear to his eyes. All four of them. People stared but in a good way. They did it out of fear, and happiness to see him out. To them he hadn't been out in a while. To Zee he had only been out for a few seconds. He would smile as he then looked for his sword which would be no where to be found. He then put his hand up in the air as it came whizzing through the air wet with a few other things on it from going through a few stuff on the way. Zee found this place pretty damn good. He like it. He wasn't going anywhere. Common sense would kick in as he started to go to the large building like structure where his throne sat inside. Among other things.*

Zee iz going zo like it here hahahahahahaha

*He'd say as he started to climb up the stairs but had a second thought. Why not discover this place of his. He didn't know how much of it he own so decided he'd rather look around. And just like that he would take off at the speed of sound as he ran through out the city to discover other cities and what else had changed.*

As Stephanie continued to walk through the abandon streets, she continued to hum to herself while moving her body back and forth. Her iPod was still keeping her company as she could feel her sword begin to drag on the ground behind her. She sighed to herself as she then sat on an old messed up park bench. She’s been walking for HOURS and still no sign of anyone on her team, or any one for that matter. She looked down at her trophy, the arm of Gambit, and sighed. “I don’t think were going to find anyone soon Bob.” She said as she had already named the severed limb. As she got up she then looked around, not a living thing in sight from were she was at. Everything was quite and she suddenly got a really bad feeling… Suddenly her earphones rang of ‘The Researchers’ voice once more.

 ‘YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation. Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.’

“GOSH DAMN IT!” She yelled out as she pulled her earphones out and threw them to the ground. “DO YOU HAVE TO FREAKEN YELL!?” She said as she rubbed her ears as they began to ring. If what she heard was correct, things were only going to get worse, and she was going to be hella pissed off when it happened. She then sighed as she stood up from the seat only to suddenly get a dizzy filling overwhelm her. Her world went dark as she fell back on the seat, her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she felt the temperature change around her, the feeling was so overwhelming that she ended up passing out.

Ten minutes later her green eyes shot open as she shot up and gasp for air. She was full of sweat as she leaned over her seat and started to breath heavily. Her eyes shift back and forth as she suddenly felt something immediately wrong. She was receiving indications of people ALL around her. She then lift her head and looked around to see hundreds, hell THOUSANDS of people walking around. Her eyes widen as she moved her head from left to right, taking in everything. But even though there were people all around her, something wasn’t right… things seemed… darker almost. She stood up and looked down at a group of children not too far away and flashed a smile at them and said. “Be cool, stay in school.” She then gave them thumbs up. The children immediately started to cry as she said this. Stephanie’s face went straight to confusion as she saw a man make his way towards her.

“Hey you! What are you doing to the kids?” he yelled out as he was holding a shotgun.

Steph laughed nervously as she then took off running as fast as she could. She then took a quick corner to a ally and after making sure it was clear she burst into flames and flew up to the top of the building, putting out her flames as she reached the top so she wouldn’t be spotted. She peeked over the building to see the man had ran after her and looked around. “What the hell? Was she a Hero?” She heard him ask himself as he then walked away.

Steph sighed to herself as she leaned against the building wall and then looked down at her. She was still a mess, still had Angel’s scythe on her back, and still had her blade in her right hand. She then noticed something was missing. She sat there for a moment and realized what it was. “BOB IS GONE!” She said as she looked at her empty left hand that was bloody form holding onto the arm. She then heard a group of people talk.

“Did you hear? The damn hero Kurrent has finally been captured in the name of our Lord Gambler.” One woman said to another.

“Yes, I was there for the branding, it was about time the military got a hold of him.” The other woman said. “But I also heard there are another group of hero’s still running around.”

“I heard that too, but if everything goes well, they’ll all be captured by sun down.” The first woman said as they began to walk off.

Steph started to sweat. The ENTIRE city, was against hero’s right now, even though she, herself, was NOT a hero in any way, she knew if she wasn’t a villain, she was going to be screwed. She then pulled out her communicator that was still somewhat intact and attempted to use it. She opened it up and began to speak softly. “WAL this is Feral Nova, does ANYBODY hear me? Please if your still out there, something is MAJORLY WRONG, someone please respond.” She said as she sat there for a moment. Even though she was alone before, she felt it even more so now.

She stood back up and looked at her tattered cloths, if she was going to try and blend in around here, she was going to have to get a new outfit. Steph’s eyes shift form left to right until she saw a clothing store that was just across the street. She figured she could make it in one jump using her super strength. She then backed away to the other end of the building. She took a deep breath as she then took off running, her feet pounding on the roof as she then launched herself from one roof to the other. Her body soared high above the crowed below her as she then made her landing to the roof, as soon as her feet touched the roof she rolled on the ground a couple of times and jumped up, only to miss calculate the distance and flop over the side of the building and land into a pile of garbage. She laid there for a moment as she sighed and pushed herself up from it. She then looked around her, her brown hair covering her face as she saw no one was around, she was about to make her way into the shop until she stopped for a moment.

She looked down at her sword and AR’s scythe and sighed. “I guess it would be a bad idea to take you guys with me.” She said as she hid the sword and scythe behind a dumpster. She then took a deep breath and pushed herself through the door. No one looked at her as she made her way in and she kept her hair in her face to, just to make sure no one could make her out in case they knew she worked with heroes. As she looked around She noticed everything was either black, blood red, a dark yellow or a dark purple that almost looked black. She sighed as she grabbed herself another black tank top, red pants and a black trench coat to go over it. The tank top had a red symbol of a ‘F’ on it on the bottom corner of the shirt, showing its allegiance to the Fraternity and she scrunched her nose in disgust. She then overheard people talking.

“So did you hear about the Hero’s that have just seemed to appear out of no where?”

“Yes I did, those damn heroes just don’t know when to give up! They should all just die and rot in hell!” Another person said.

Stephanie then smirked to herself and stepped up to the conversation. “I say decapitate them!” She shouted out as she looked at the two people. They both stared at her for a moment, seeing how messed up she looked. “Sorry, I got in a fight with one of them earlier today, he tried to rescue a kitten from a tree. If the cat wanted to come down, it would have came down on its own!” Steph yelled out as she stomped her foot on the ground. “Right?”

The two men paused for a moment as they then looked at each other. “YEAH!” Both of the people yelled as they both slapped Steph on the back to show they agree with her. She stumbled forward a bit and smiled to herself inwardly. ‘This might not be so hard after all.’ She thought as she made her way to the counter.

“Did you find everything alright?” the guy said in a monotone voice, obviously in a bad mood.

“No, I didn’t, you guys have everything thrown everywhere.” She said being honest.

“Good.” The guy said as he rung up the total. “That’s $75.15 and I need to see your villain registration card now.” He said as he looked up at her while giving ‘I don’t give a damn’ look at her.

Steph slowly pulled out her wallet and started to panic, she didn’t have a villain registration card… or $75.15 for that matter. She continued to look through her wallet as something then caught her eye. It was her N.O.V.A ID Card, stating that she was experiment ‘NOVA X’, this card would give her access to everything around the government because she was an experiment for them. N.O.V.A Industries WAS evil… but was it evil enough to fool them into thinking that SHE was evil? She pulled out her card and laid in on the desk.

The man picked it up and looked at it as he arched his eyebrow and looked back up at Stephanie. “YOUR Nova X?” he asked in an unbelieving voice.

Stephanie leaned over the counter and was only inches away from the mans face. “You got a problem with that?” She asked as her eyes began to glow with fire.

The man leaned back a bit and laughed. Was this good? Or was she screwed? The man then looked over to the other two guys who were in the room. “Guys, get your @$$ over here!” he said as he waved to them. As the two guys came over the main man stood up. “This woman, is the Legendary Nova X!” he said excitingly. “You know, the one who does the dirty work for N.O.V.A Industries!” he said as a smile came on his face. “You’re a legend here Ms. X” he said as he slid the card back at her. “Take the cloths, its on the house, just don’t burn my shop down during the day alright? Oh! Before you go.” He said as he pulled out a bottle. “Take this, its skin growth generation, it will help you with your… battle wounds.”

Stephanie took the can and nod her head, with that she was about to make her way out until she stopped and turned back around. “Hey, can I change here?”

About twenty minutes later Steph walked out of the shop, her new cloths fit her a little tightly and her black tank top ran kind of low, too low for her liking, but it was better than wearing her tore up cloths. The can of tissue generation worked just perfect for her, by covering her metal parts so she could blend in more easily. She then went back to the dumpster and grabbed her weapons, she tied the jacket across her chest while she slipped her sword through her belt loop on her pants and began to walk back out into the streets, people didn’t give her a second glance anymore, she blended in just perfect and this was the first time in her life she was happy to be called ‘Nova X’.

She was now just wondering around, trying to see if she could locate ANYONE other than a villain that could recognize her. They needed to regroup and come back harder than ever but… first they needed to find somewhere to meet up at.

Bright light spilled out onto the street, followed by a pulse of sound so powerful that it bent every window within a thousand meters to breaking point and beyond. Tiny fragments of glass rained down upon Manhattan, looking for all the world like stars falling from the heavens. Then the full force of the explosion was unleashed, tearing a hole in the road and turning a block of offices into flying rubble in the blink of an eye. Smoke, chunks of brick and scraps of burning paper wafter out into the evening air like a living beast, coiling and writhing as it climbed higher into the sky. A signpost to all who watched that the Fraternity did not control everyone. Through the billowing clouds of smoke strode a loan figure. Tall and skinny, with a messenger bag slung over one shoulder and a gas mask pulled up off his face. Revealing the tell tale H scar of a branded hero. The worlds smartest man had come to New York.

Something moved in the wreckage that was all that remained of the Federal Office of Metahuman Records, an organization set up to recruit new members into the deadly Fraternity of assassins. It was for this reason that Ryan Winters, or Ex Machina to his enemies, had destroyed the building probably setting back the relentless march of the worlds new rulers by at least a month, if not more. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do. A uniformed soldier coughed as he tried to extricate himself from the tangle of steel girders which had pinned his legs to the ground. Mercilessly Ryan drew a pistol from his waist an shot the man dead. There had been a time when such an action would have appalled him, but he was fighting a war, fighting and losing. Anyone who wore the uniform of his enemy could expect no quarter from the hardened guerrilla fighter. Slowly he holster his weapon and pulled on a worn out bomber jacket over his ragged t shirt, torn by the force of the blast. It was time to leave.

With the sound of sirens in the distance the resistance fighter took off, dashing up the sheep face of the building opposite the blast zone. Within a few minutes he was a mile away, heading into New York proper where no amount of searching would find him. It took almost half an hour to reach his lair, if you could call it that. Two dozen empty bunk beds for the men and women who now lay dead at the FOMR, a radio set and armory, now sorely depleted. But it had all been worth it, hadn't it? His plan to bring down the Fraternity was two thirds complete. There was nothing he could do now but wait until the perfect time to strike and gather yet more allies to fight the good fight. There was a horrible monotony to it. Young men and women, many without powers came in, their eyes full of dreams only to die days later. Ryan tried not to think about the past,  it was too painful. He had got where he was by walking over the bodies of his friends. All he needed now was one final push, one last effort and then he could rest. It would be over, one way or another.

He sat down wearily and switched on the radio, listening for other fighters. But there was only static.

A fond memory for Pix was always of the time that he spent on New York's Staten Island. So it only made since that when the entire state of New York was handed over to the villains, thats was where he would take residence. Apparently this 'Researcher' guy was impressed with The Fraternity's display of effort and shifted New York into the favor of the Villains. The sorcerer himself hadn't really lifted a finger in terms of fighting. But of course that didn't stop him from reaping the benefits that his other teammates enjoyed. The LeBeau family had their own Castle in the city of Manhattan, Zoom had 'Zoom's Square' [formerly Times Square] and Pix enjoyed life in his own Palace... Pixie Palace to be exact.

The room was surrounded by 15 blinking screens. Her tiny hands reached up toward the blinking light as she cooed softly from where she lay across the room. Her mother watched the screens before her, and with her right hand moved aside the surveillance cameras from the view of the prisons in Brooklyn, and pulled up a view of Central Park North. Then of Hells Kitchen, and the last of the Brooklyn Bridge. Esther's long hair fell to her side as she moved her head. With a flick of the switch she alerted a dispatch of an additional 5,000 soldiers to line the Brooklyn Bridge. With Jean's consent they had created a plan to line Brooklyn's perimeter with camera's. They built a fortress blocking all entrance and exists onto the main Island of Manhattan and lined the area with an electromagnetic field. Esther had ensured that the area would be blocked and fortified with ground troops.  The Island was lined with towers and atop them, soldiers on duty with their sniper rifles. The face of New York had changed dramatically, as well as the face of the country. The family royale, the Lebeau's, sat high atop the world and gazed below, controlling everything, whether the populace knew it or not.

Esther's long robe trailed behind her across the floor as she made her way toward the crib that rocked softly back and forward at the end of the room. She looked down and smiled as she gently passed her hand though the tiny whisps of hair upon Angelique's head, lifted her up and looked deeply into her beady red eyes. She looked just like her father. She held her tightly to her bosom and rocked her gently back and forth, deep in thought. She could remember when Florian had been this small, he was such a handful. Esther had grown quite old over the years, though the Lazarus Pits had aided in the anti aging process and she was fortunate enough not to look a day over 25, with the exception of a few silver strands stemming from her crown of her head. If it wasn't for the ritual baths, chances are Angelique would not have been born; yet as she gazed into the eyes of the young princess, she could not hide her worried smile. Over the years Esther had harnessed telepathic powers with age that had evolved through years of martial arts training with Master Yanagi, and it was only after his death that these powers grew stronger and she was able to control them. She could sense deep within her psyche that all was not well and she furrowed her brow. There was so much she feared, but most important was the lives of her children.

Esther held Angelique close to her chest and rubbed her back softly as she made her way toward the balcony looking out over the royal gardens, the cool breeze blowing through her robe and hair, as she held on more closely to the newborn baby, protecting her from the cool air. She looked up at the sky and saw him descend with the two children, manipulating the laws of physics to his advantage as he suspended himself and the two children in mid air. She smiled as she watched his descent from above, careful not to drop the children. Her thoughts were interupted by the sound of Oracle's alert. A picture came across the main screen inside of the office and Oracle's voice, soothing and monotone rang out filling the room. Esther knew before the computer had announced the situation that the security had been breached and her gaze wandered over to the screen. She focused. Security had been breached in the southernmost tower of the fortress in Brooklyn, Esther could feel it. With security breached, someone had to take control of the situation, and fast. She walked over to the computer system and pulled up the Fraternity roster. She analyzed it, and eyes narrowed, she contacted their com links. The situation seemed minor, yet with Florian's ball on the horizon it only seemed appropriate that she should stifle the situation before it becames serious.

"Owl. Pussycat. I need you to make your way downtown immediately. Security has been breached in the southernmost fortified region of the fortress in Brooklyn. Check it out before it becomes an issue and let me know," Esther pulled up another screen with her right hand, and with her left arm she adjusted Angelique on her shoulder, "Do yourselves a favor and avoid Broadway. Take the Black Hawk, I'll have it waiting for you here at the mansion. Based on your respective locations, this shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. So whatever you're doing stop and get moving.."

The link cut out. The Cat grimaced and rolled her eyes, and the Owl laughed at her. 

New York, What a town.  Deep within a luxourious five star hotel, Drifter laid sprawled out across the bed. Ten empty margarita glass's sat on his nightstand. Man, He was wasted. His head pounding, under his breath he muttered "Goddam, Who's spinning the #%*ing room?". Suddenly, there was a knock at his door.   The cyborg threw on his jeans and black t-shirt, walking to the door slowly, scratching his butt cheeks with every other step. As he clutched the golden door knob, he threw back the door and to his surprise, There stood a buxom young blonde, fresh faced and smiling, wearing nothing but a two piece bikini. A purple and yellow thong and bra. She held up a silver platter in her hands which she sat on his nightstand next to the empty margarita glasse's. This was his breakfast, though he was'nt really hungry.

"Good morning Mr. Castle" She smiled

"Hey there Darling. Whats brings you here?" Drifter asked curiously.

She simply walked passed him, her high heels clicking as she did. Making his bed, she looked back and smiled "Oh, Don't play coy with me Mr. Castle. You own this hotel"

"Really?" Drifter said as all he could do was stare at her behind as she picked up his room.

"Mr. Castle, Did you bump your head? Are you feeling ok?" She asked as she dropped what she was doing, walking over to him and putting her palm on his fore-head "You don't feel like you have a fever".

It was almost to much take in, The last thing he remembered was standing beside Pixelized and Florian in the battle field and now, He wakes up in a living dream, How is this possible? It was obviously the work of the Researcher, He appreciated the Fraternitys hard work and was now rewarding all of them. Hero's were tortured and kept in a large dome known as "The Yard".  Slowly the young blonde explained everything to him.

"Well, Goddam" Said Drifter as he grabbed his coat and ran to the elevator. After a minute or two of boring elevator music,  he was in the front lobby. And behind the counter stood a fresh faced buxom young red-head wearing the same kind of bikini the blonde was wearing.

Ignoring the woman behind the counter, Drifter dashed outside, looking up at the towering monument, he saw his face on the building and purple flags with the word "C" for Castle waved in the air. The hotel once known as The Hilton was now "The Castle".

Shaking his head in disbelief he could only say "Sonnofab!tch"

As he walked back inside with a grin from ear to ear, he stepped to the counter, The red-head then said "Good morning Mr.Castle, I have some mail for you."

She then handed him a "magazine" and a letter. He looked down the magazine and blushed slightly "Wrong adress, I guess. Hehe"

"Oh Mr. Castle" She said rolling her eyes, "I don't know why you need those things after the wild night we had".

Once again, Drifter looked around after hearing the red-head's words and said "Sonofab!tch". Reaching for the letter, he ripped open with his teeth, spitting out part of the envelope, there inside the envelope was an invitation to Florians birthday party.

"Hey.....you?" Drifter said trying to cover up the fact he was wasted and could'nt remember the chicks's name.

"I'm Rebecca"

"Yeah, Rebecca. Call the House of L, Tell them I'll be attending tonight" Said Drifter as he smiled, headed back to his room.

Angelic Reaper was flying through the skies of the broken down city, she was wounded and tired, she just wanted to lay somewhere to rest so her wounds could heal. That is until she felt a powerful wave of spiritual energy come up from under her. She quickly stopped flying to see Acer, her long time friend now floating in front of her. Inside Angel wanted to hug him, tell him how happy she was to see him. That is… until she watched as he charged up his hands. Angel looked at his hands for a moment, and then back up at him. She knew what he was going to try and do…

“Hey AR sorry about this but its what has to be done please understand.” He said to her with a sorrowful look upon his face.

Angel too frowned; she didn’t want this to happen, to fight a friend. So instead she lowered her head and rose her hands up. “I will not fight you Acer, if you want to kill me to try and ‘save’ the world, then do so. But I will not fight you, you are too much of a brother to me to do you any harm.” She said as she then looked at him right in the eyes, getting ready for him to attack, or respond to her.

Right then the air around them turned cold.

“Acer… something really bad is about to happen…”

Right then her head felt like it was about to burst, she grabbed a hold of her head and made a slight cry from the pain. It was The Researcher again, and he wasn’t done with the groups.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation. Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.

Suddenly everything went black around her, she couldn’t see Acer anymore, she couldn’t see anything around her, and just the sound of an evil laugh filled her mind. This went on for about what seemed like five minutes, until it finally stopped, the sun was now shown and she was now STANDING on a patch of grass in a children’s park. Angel looked up and around her, thousands of people, cars, bikes, and skateboards roamed the streets and sidewalks and children filled the park. She stood still, not sure what was going on.

“What happened?” She asked herself as she then noticed that Acer was no were in sight. “Acer?” She asked as she looked around, only not to find him anywhere around her, and to make things work; there was a massive amount of dark spiritual energy around her. Her head shot back and forth, trying to spot were it was coming from, all around her it seemed like, she then watched as a child walked up to her and tugged on the hem of her skirt. She looked down at the young girl and made a small smile as she knelt down and went eye to eye with her. “Is something the matter?”

“Are… are… you a hero?” She asked almost frightened.

Angel paused for a moment, was she a hero? No, with her powers, she could never truly be called a hero. Not as long as she had that demon living within her. She gently shook her head back and forth. “No, I am no hero, I simply fight for what I believe in, why do you ask?”

“Because if you were I was told to tell a police officer so he could take to away, brand you and send you off to ‘The Yard’.” The child said as she then smiled back. “But since your not.” She turned away and skipped off.

Angel stayed crouched down for a moment longer, if she was a hero she was going to call the police on her? She then remembered the worlds of The Researcher. “Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts.” She then knew what he meant; he made a utopia for villains, and a hellhole for heroes and even neutrals if they were more allied to being a hero. Angel then looked around for a bit as she slowly backed way from the playing area, and into some bushes not too far way. If she wanted to walk around without being attacked, she was going to have to power down. Just like that Angelic Reaper touched her chest and took a deep breath, within seconds her outfit disappeared and her regular civilian cloths were now on her that she had on before this whole thing started. Even though she was now in her regular cloths, she was still had her wound.

She then made her way out of the bushes and walked through the playground and into the crowd. She wasn’t sure what was going on right now, were everyone was at or what the heck she was supposes to do. She then heard some ‘Police’ officers speak to one another.

“Didja see how we pinned down that so called ‘hero’?” One of the men said as he smirked.

“Yeah, some hero, couldn’t even fight off some guys.” The other chuckled.

“Pathetic if you ask me.” The first man said as he opened up a can of beer and took a quick sip of it.

Kat walked up to the men and tapped one on the shoulder. “Um… excuse me, but… who are you two talking about?”

The two men looked at each other and arched their eyebrow as they looked back at her. “Why Kurrent of course, where have you been, living under a rock?” one said as they both laughed.

‘Kurrent?!’ Angel thought to herself, this was bad, very bad. “and um… were did they take him again?”

The two men started to look at her with a little more curiosity.“They took him were they take all the low life hero’s, to ‘The Yard’.”The other man said.

“Hey” The first man said as he put his drink down. “Let me see your Villain Registration card.”

Kat backed away slowly. “Villain Registration Card?” She repeated as the cop nod his head. “R-right.” She said as she took out her wallet and began to look through it. She knew she didn’t have one, but she was taking this time to try and think up of a way to escape. But she didn’t have many choices. She COULD just teleport away, but then if she lands were people are at she would have to just teleport again, and again, and again, until she found a safe spot, IF there was one.  She looked around for a moment, she could sense people top of roofs, hiding behind bushes, and the shadows of the city, as if waiting for a hero to make their debut and take them out just as fast. She needed a plan… and fast

As Bio Guyver called out the names of his teamates, a strange cloud of change covered Bio Guyver's air. He had a gut feeling that something was about to happen. He knew a change was coming. But was it good or bad? The Captain lengthened his High Frequency Swords to five feet in length, ready for any movement. A movement entered his senses.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief. I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME. I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation.Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.

The ground began to tremble by the might of the Researcher. In response, Bio Guyver took flight. Suddenly, Manhattan was undergoing a change from bad to worse. The sky was engulfed with fiery flames and the ground became deader. The smell of death made Bio Guyver a bit sick. Wicked trees rose from the dry ground. The planet became dark.

The curtains were up, and Bio Guyver entered a new world. There were new foundations in Manhattan. It was rebuilt in little time. Birds you would think that you can find in the big city were Pigeons and Sparrows. But this was completely different. Flocks of crows surrounded this damned city. We're villains really this crazy? What the f#ck were they thinking? The W.A.L. Captain took a walk around this new, unknown city. Walking down a street called "Sangre", the site wasn't a pretty one for the hero.

Gunshots were fired and shared. Dozens of bodies falling in the black pavement of the road. The locals were mad and out of control. From the looks of it, two rival gangs were at it. There were no police officers in the scene or anything. Guess the city was going down the drapes. How disgusting to see that. The Guyver took a leap straight to the gang fight, soaring twenty feet across. Landing on his two feet, he cut a gang member's arm off with his right High Frenquency Sword. The gang member fell to his knees and cried. The gang fight stopped.

Bio Guyver turned his gaze to all the people involved in the fight. Giving them the intimidation look, white smoke was released from his respirators. Bio Guyver's lenses glowed a color that resembled to the sky. The two gangs moved back away from the Captain, each gang on their own side. A gang member began to speak.

"Ey guey, did you send any heroes to the camps today?"

The W.A.L. captain tilted his head a bit, confused with the question. Was this guy just trying to mess with me? Bio Guyver looked down at his torso. It wasn't the body of a man, but a freak. Sure the man was inside, but the alien shell is all that could be seen. This began to seem interesting. Really, anyone who would look at Bio Guyver would first think he's a menace just from his looks. Even his team had some uneasy thoughts towards Hayden. And by showing these punks that he was willing to take apart a body part from someone, he could fool anyone. Not everyone, there was still the Fraternity. And what was up with the camps this gang member said? Were heroes kept in prisons? Perhaps his friends were in danger.

"Chief, you okay?"

A chief? Then a chief Bio Guyver will be, at least for the moment. He needed a quick response. He needed to find those camps. Maybe asking with a twist of profanity could work. Bio Guyver walked up to a gang member, with his High Frequency Sword pointing straight at his throat.

"Where the f#ck are the campsites?!" Tell me, or I'll bring this damn blade up your f#cking throat, so your gangbangers buddies here laugh at your bloody corpse!"

The exclamation drove the two gangs back even further. No one was spilling the answer. This only made Bio Guyver even more frustrated. The angry Bio Guyver fired a single energy beam from his head towards a gang member's right arm. The beam was targeted at the man's arm, a bone part in particular. The blast ripped through the bone that was connected to another, thus the arm was seperated from the body. Bio Guyver pointed at the stray arm.

"You think I'm f#cking around?! Tell me where!"

"Just... some hours North from here......"

"Thank you, you're all outstanding citizens of this sh!thole. You may now continue your festivities."

The Captain took flight in the dense air. He needed to find his friends. He just hoped they were all right. If something were to happen to them, he would comfront the Researcher himself even if he would die. At two hundred feet above the villain city, Bio Guyver took out his communicator. He was able to send a message to all We Are Legend members.

Where are your current locations?Please respond.

As Ripcord stood back to back with Kurrent, he watched the members of WAL are any sudden movements. They were his friends, but he would kill them without a second thought to save the people of earth. Spinning the bastard sword in his right hand, Ripcord dropped into a low guarded stance as he waited for the action to start. Even thought his heart was heavy, Ripcord knew that the members of WAL understood the gravity of the situation they were in. They had no choice in the game the entity know as The Researcher placed them in. It was kill or be killed, and Ripcord prouded himself on being a survivor. Just then, with a voice that could wake the heavens, The Researcher spoke with venom in his heart.

YOU DARE CHALLENGE ME THUNDER GOD, I did not interfere when one of you simplistic Earthmen summoned me and now you make a challenge. I am beyond strength, beyond magic, beyond belief.  I lay out a simple test and the heroes of this world make claims on defeating ME.  I will show you heroes the limits of my power and now reward those that understand the meaning of cooperation.Being outnumbered three to one this worlds "villains" showed their fortitude. My gift to them to even the odd will be what they all desire deep down in there hearts. I was wrong in concluding what I did before and it appears that I can still learn from this species.

All at once, the sky turned blood red and the ground rumbled like a pack of wild elephants were charging toward them. Seeing all that was going on around them, Ripcord resheathed the sword and stepped away from Kurrent. Something had angered The Researcher, and Ripcord didn't want to think of what The Researcher would do when angered. Then all became dark. Ripcord had never encountered anything like this. Even with his enhanced senses, Ripcord couldn't make out anything around him. Then just as fast as things faded into black, they turned back to normal.

Ripcord marveled at the Researcher's power. In just a matter of seconds, they were back in New York, and there wre people all around. Turning back to see where was Kurrent, Ripcord saw him as he spoke:

“What the hell is going on man? Try and get the team on the communicator I’m going to check around and ask some of these people what is going on”.

Nodding toward Kurrent, Ripcord turned back around to attempt to reach Acer or Alpha Guard over the com-link. After a couple failed attempts, Ripcord was startled as a little boy tugged on his pants and spoke:

"Are you one of those filthy heroes the Fraternity warned us about?"

Before he had a chance to answer the boy, Ripcord turned around As a woman began to scream out for help.

“HELP, HELP……it’s a hero, somebody HELP”

Turning back around to see what all the commotion was about, Ripcord watched as a heavily armed guard appeared out of nowhere and tackled Kurrent. As Ripcord began to reach for his sword, the little boy tugged at his pants again.

"Well, are you a hero or not? I mean, you look like one. Or are you one of the villains?"

Trying to get away from the little boy and help Kurrent, Ripcord put his hand on the hilt of the sword and began to walk toward the oncoming platoon of guards making their way toward where Kurrent and the guard were wrestling with each other. As more and more people began to crowd around Kurrent and the guard. Ripcord was once again questioned by the little boy who he saw hold on to his sword belt.

"You are one of those heroes aren't? I know you are. I've seen your wanted poster on-line. Your friend is as good as dead, you wanna end up like him, go help him. If you want to live, you'll come with me."

As Ripcord looked down at the little boy, he saw that the boy had an H branded on his face, and kneeled down to pick the boy up. It was beyond Ripcord who would do this to a little kid. It was enough to make his blood boil. Whoever did this would meet with an untimely demise. As much as it hurt him to do it, Kurrent would have to wait.

Walking out the crowd with the boy in one arm, Ripcord listened to the boy tell him about how he get his brand. The boy's name was Alex. It turned out his father was a small time hero by the name of Speedfreak. Once news of his heroics was brought to the attention of the police, they came and locked up everyone in his family. They were all forced took the brand and that was the last time he ever saw his father. He has lived with the brand ever since. He also told Ripcord about the work camps that all captured heroes were shipped out to, but all the heroes on the most wanted list were sent to a place known as The Dome. After a few hours with the boy, Ripcord knew this is what the Reasearcher meant when he said he would reward the villains. He had turned the world into a utopia for villains, and put all the heroes of the world on the chopping block. 

Sad for the boy's loss, Ripcord decided to take the boy home, but once there Ripcord was shocked to find that it was a beat up little shack with most of the windows busted and spray paint covering everything that wasn't covered in dirt. Looking at the boy, Ripcord smiled and turned around.

This is no longer your home, Alex.  You're coming with me. I'm pretty sure all the heroes haven't been caught. You'll be able to stay with them. Do you know what happened to Moob Mansion? Or the Z-Tower?

Looking at Ripcord like he was crazy, Alex shrugged his shoulders. Looking at the collar of Ripcord's shirt, Alex touched his com-link and smiled up at Ripcord.

"Is this a com-link? I haven't seen one of these in a while. My dad had one like this. A friend of his named Tech made it for him. This one looks broke."

Looking at Alex as if he was really seeing him for the first time, Ripcord put him down, looked in his eyes, and spoke.

Alex, do you know where this man lives now? I need to talk to him. It's very important that I speak to him. He may be able to help me get in contact with a couple of my friends. Can you do that for me, Alex?

Shrugging his shoulders, Alex nods at Ripcord and points down the block, causing Ripcord to pick Alex back up and start in the direction he just pointed in. After what seemed like twenty minutes, Ripcord and Alex arrived at a posh little house that looked out of place amongst all the beaten up shacks on the block. Jumping out of Ripcord's arm, Alex runs up to the house and starts to knock on the door. At once a large man opens the door and after looking at Alex, kicks him away. Seeing this, Ripcord walks over to the door and knocks and seconds later, The same man answers the door.

"What do you want?"

Looking at the man, Ripcord smiles as he picks up Alex and kicks the man in the balls, causing him to fall to the floor shaking and wimpering. Stepping into the house, Ripcord kicks the man in the stomach and closes the door. Raising Alex in the air to see if he had any bruises, Ripcord smiles as Alex rubs his stomach and gives him a thumbs up. Walking through the house, Ripcord and Alex enter a large room to find a middle aged man with his back turned to them at a table working on something. Seeing the man, Alex calls out to him.

"Uncle Tech, I'm here with a friend."

At the sound of Alex's voice the man at the table turned around quickly, but once he sees Ripcord, all the color fades from his face. Seeing Tech's reaction to Ripcord, Alex laughs and with a gleeful smile speaks to Tech.

"Don't worry, Uncle Tech. He's a friend. His name is Ripcord. He needs your help. He has a broken com-link. You can fix it, Uncle Tech. You can fix anything, can't you Uncle Tech?

Looking at the man at the table, Ripcord unclips the com-link from his collar and tosses it at the man. Turning with Alex still in his arms, Ripcord looks around the room to find it's full of gadgets. Walking toward the wall on the far side of the room, Ripcord picks up a picture of Tech with a man that looks like Alex. Looking at Alex as he begins to look at the picture, Ripcord places it back down and picks up another. This one, Tech and the man in the other picture holding a baby.

Turning back toward Tech, Ripcord watches the man as he begins to work on the com-link, and speaks.

It looks like you're doing pretty good for yourself, Tech. Mind telling me why Alex here is living in a dirty shack while you live in luxury? Oh, you don't have to worry about lying to me. I can tell if you're lying.  Who do you work for?  

C'mon gotta go faster I'm seconds... I HAVE TO WIN!! Johnny pushed himself to go as fast as he could. The sound waves that Zee was emitting where weakening him and pushing himself to the limit wasn't helping either. He flew towards the vortex and he could barely hear what sounded like someone talking he couldn't get any thing he said as became weaker and weaker. He lost control and careened into and through the ground. He laid there unconscious...

His eyes opened just barely and he got a peak at what was going on. He saw two ugly men holding onto both his arms and pulling him. One man had a thick beard and a ripped tank top on with cargo shorts on and workers boots. The other had no shirt on and wore stained jeans and broken sneakers. He wanted to resist the men but he couldn't move his body, he then blacked out again. This time his eyes peeled their eyelids away and showed him two women, there faces were soft and pretty but their clothes were just as bad as the rest they wore these ragged dresses. They looked at his eyes and they smiled. He tried to speak but could not his eyes fell again but this time he refused to blackout. He forced his eyes open and saw another man enter and speak to the women. He seemed to be dressed in battle armor of some sort, his arms were dressed with scars and tattoos. He made a gesture Johnny as he spoke and then him and the women left room. He tried to get up but his body would not allow it and he blacked out again...

“Johnny are you okay now, Johnny we need you awake, Johnny... Okay give him a little shock about 20 volts.” At the sound of that his body sprung into action, it jumped up, vaulted over the men surrounding him and stopped itself midair. He opened his eyes to see his opponents. They were two burly men and the other was the armor clad man he saw earlier. “Don't worry boss we'll gets him down fors ya,” The two men rushed he gave them both a flip kick and they were down for the count. The other man spoke, “Hello Johnny i am Laertes, may i say it is an honor to meet you, your heroic efforts have saved this city countless times,” He extended his hand. Johnny eyed him, with his arms folded and began to speak, “First of all where am I, second who the hell are you people, and third what the hell is going on?” Laertes breathed heavily and began to speak...

“You are inside the rebel base in Brooklyn, New York, we are the apart of the villain rebellion we have stationed ourselves in each of the five boroughs, there are eight bases in all, four in Manhattan, one in every other borough, we created this rebellion to seize the city back, our efforts have been unsuccessful but we have not been completely defeated. Now for your third question, the heroes had defeated the villains of earth countless times, so the villains got together and created a new scheme. They hid and stopped committing crimes and even appearing anywhere. Then an unknown crisis struck and all the heroes went to fight, this allowed the villains to takeover the state. The heroes were gone for thirty years and when they came back the home they remembered was gone. The heroes were hunted, slaughtered, and captured some heroes escaped and disguised themselves. We asked them to join us but they refused...Did this happen all across the planet? We, don't know we haven't even left the city what we do know is that the security here is tight and all our losses have struck a near fatal wound in our morale, now hero i pose to you, a question, will you help us in our time of need, will you walk the path other heroes have feared to tread, will you fill the shoes other heroes have feared to try, will you be the commander of the rebel army?”

These words struck a cord within Johnny, he could not have imagined a world so terrible that heroes would cower in fear. It made him wonder how bad this situation was. Was he ready to take on the responsibility of an army. He had many times had mental wars with his father where his father would give him a scenario and he would come up with a strategy to get him out of the situation through this he learned how to deal with a large amount of military power as well as bad scenarios involving siege of highly guarded areas, uphill fights, among other things. He realized he was sent here for a reason and that reason was to save his city.

“I need to know something first what villains are located where, and where are the detainees at?”said Johnny. He awaited an answer. “The Le beau family is located in a huge tower in the center of Manhattan, Zee is suspected to be in the Bronx, The evil sorcerer Pix is in Staten Island, and the detainees are right here in a camp called yard its near Astoria ave.” He was glad to find out that the heroes were close by it worked with his plan on how to restore this city.

“I am a New Yorker myself, i have defended this city with all i had to stop it from becoming this way, and to see that my efforts were nothing brings tears to my eyes. I have nearly died fighting for this place My home, and now i will once again fight for it until i can fight no more. What i am trying to say is yes i will lead the rebellion against these villains. As of now i take command and my first command is to get me all the maps and intel you have on this borough, I need thematic maps, schematics of this yard locations of every sniper within four hundred yards of this place, a body count, one for soldiers and one for other civilians, rebels, heroes. If you don't have this information acquire it. Yes sir.” And Laertes was off to carry out the commands he was given to the letter. Johnny had doubts about whether he would be able to lead these men to victories, but now that he had started giving orders and thinking of strategies he was taught by his father, all doubts subsided as Commander Trooper assumed his role in this revolution...

The sun was starting to set casting a beautiful array of orange beams reflecting off the mirrored glass of the House of L. A large red carpet had been laid out stretching from the front gate all the way up to the pearl handled double doors of the main tower. Florian and a small contingent of Fraternity assassins made their way unceremoniously down the carpet having been out on patrol all day. Pushing open the doors reviled a bee hive of activity inside as servants frantically finished up the final touches for the nights big event.

It wouldn’t be long now before the guests started to arrive. Everything was decadent and overly indulgent. Reminiscent of the early days of the Hellfire Club. Massive ice sculptures where set up around the great hall as well as a live band. No expense was spared for the now 18 year old Cajun’s birthday as he made the transition from a punk kid, to a man and true leader. Still, Florian felt the Fraternity should be more focused on capturing the remaining heroes before they found one another and started to re-group. The capture of Kurrent was a major blow to Mobb Deep but they needed to keep the pressure on. WAL was still at large as well as rumors of a newly formed Zero Squad.

But Florian would submit to his parents wishes and at least try to put on a good face for the party. Before the guests arrived he silently made his way upstairs to peek in on his sleeping children. Their mother had been a hero who Florian had had an affair with but he was unable to save her from being executed. Had their love been exposed there was no doubt that the children would have been put to death as well. Two gentle kisses where placed on their foreheads before the young Cajun changed into his regal attire and made his way back downstairs to meet the arriving guests.

His father and mother where standing together talking and lovingly holding one another in each others arms, caught in eachothers gaze. Even villains could show affection and loyalty. Florian was actually looking forward to seeing some of his Fraternity teammates that he had not seen in some time. Zoom, and Disco had branched out on their own creating illustrious palaces and museums that rivaled the House of L in beauty and prestige. Pix, along with Drifter, had stood side by side the young prince during the team wars that saw so much blood. And although they had missed out on most of the conflict they still rested easy knowing that they could depend on one another.

While the party was about to start and everything on the inside of the towers seemed perfect, outside was a different story. Sentinels and super enhanced police officers combed the city in an attempt to round up heroes and maintain order. The average citizen was to terrified to stand up for themselves and out of fear where all to eager to point out anyone who may be a hero. Some even hurled false allegations against their neighbors in hopes of garnering favor with the royal family. More and more people where being hulled  off to the Yard never to be seen again. So far the heroes had avoided detection and it was only a matter of time before they organized an offensive attack.

But with more firepower and the Researcher pulling the strings behind the scene, the odds didn’t look good for the heroes.

After no response from his radio call to Kurrent Samuel was forced to find shelter for a little bit of rest. That little bit of rest lasted longer than he had expected. He woke up two hours later to the sound of men surrounding the building he was in. He heard a voice shouting out orders. "Get over there you idiot. Move it. Where the hell is my explosives. If he gets away again its your heads not mine!" That was a voice he remembered all to well. It was the voice of the chubby man that had confronted him earlier. Suddenly he heard then men dash away and the chubby man was shouting: "Get the hell out of there unless you want to join in that walls explosion." His eyes widened but he didn't have time to react. The bricks flew at him from his right side. One of them smashed right into the side of his face leaving a huge red mark and a little scratch. As the blood slowly began trickle out of the scratch he stood up. He tried to balance himself by putting his hand on the wall but he nearly fell on his face as his hand slid through the moss on the wall. He managed to catch himself but grimaced at what was on his hand. The air in the building was dry and dusty now. He could barely see his hand infront of him. With each breath he took he choked. The dust was incredibly thick. It burned his throat and lungs each time he inhaled. It felt like sandpaper on his tongue.

He eyes were bloodshot and burning as he slowly walked through the debre. He heard the chubby mans voice again. This time he was blabbering on about some retrieval team or something. His hearing had been impaired because of the dust that clogged them. He slowly felt along the wall running his hand through the disgusting slime. He found the and opening and headed for it. He knew he had to get out of the building. He jumped out onto a nearby window ledge. He barely had a grip on it and his fingers slipped. He fell on top of a dumpster then rolled to the ground with a thud. He tried to wipe his eyes but the dust was thick even on them. He coughed many times each cough filled with dust. He heard a noise behind him and swung around drawing his gun at the same time. He saw armed men running at him and fired three times somehow managing to take out four opponents. He turned to see if there was an escape route when he felt something bash into the back of his head. He suddenly felt blood running down his head and heard the chubby man's laughing before he passed out. The men grabbed him and dragged him to the back of a delivery truck and tossed him in like a sack of mail. He woke up about a half an hour later only to find he was in the back of an armored truck. Heard voices outside but they were muffled and he couldn't understand them. He sat back down and waited to see what would happen next. He realized that they stripped him of his weapons and radio. "Damn bastards can't even respect a persons property." He layed down to see if he could get a little rest before any more problems came his way.

The sewers were dark and damp. A rat ran up and down the water covered floor and across pipelines that hung over head. Joshua looked around as he sat down against the wall in a small storage room. The place was small and there was 2 small make shift beds over in the corner that he and his sister Julia had made out of torn up rags and used blankets he found in the trash. Joshua couldn’t remember much. Things just seem to start out of no where. Trying to remember his parents was like a dream that never happened. For as far back as Joshua could remember it had always been him and his sister. The pair of brother and sister stayed below the streets of in fear of being hunted down for their skin color and beliefs. Joshua hated fighting he would only resort to violence when he or his sister was threatened. The pair would often go street side via the sewer tunnels. They would hide their identity as best as possible by wearing trench coats and large clothing and hats.

Joshua often wandered the sewer's looking for things he and his sister could add to their home. sure the place was small and no place to raise a child but they had to make due with what they had. Things around him seemed like a dream like it wasn’t real or was just a figment of his imagination. How could people possibly hate heroes the ones that looked out for them when they were in need. Joshua knew that gambler and his family ran the city but he just couldn’t help but feel that there was something wrong. Like it all had just happened over night. Josh would often wake up at night feeling as if it was all just a dream but when he would look around and see the small room he was in and could hear the water dripping from the ceiling he knew he was indeed in hell.

Joshua would often dream about people and friends he once thought he had but in this reality he never even knew. Joshua and his sister survived under ground by only going street side for food. They survived solely off instinct and the will to live. They would go above ground and steal their food and quickly bring it back to their lair. Joshua wanted to fight back he wanted to be free but what was he to do against a whole city and the power of the house of L. As Joshua sat pondering about what to do he looked over at his sister. she was curled up into a ball laying on her small make shift bed. he could see water dripping from the ceiling and landing on her small face as she wiped it away in her sleep.

"DA^^it" Joshua shouted not caring if he woke her up or not. his fist slammed into the wall the he was leaned against as he stood up. Joshua hated the way he and his sibling were forced to live. The blue elf then stormed out of the small storage room and began to walk down the tunnels of the sewer. Josh and his sister new the sewer like the back of their hands they could find their way around even if they were blind. Josh knew every porthole that led to the street and he knew every underground entrance in every building in . 

As he marched through the underground tunnel he was suddenly startled from the sound of splashing water. He knew somebody else was down here with him but what for. he had never seen another human down in the sewers before unless they were working on something. Quickly Joshua darted into a small crevice in wall and stayed as quiet as possible. When he seen the person walk by his eye's widened and his jaw dropped. For a second josh thought he was dreaming. The blue elf gazed at the female figure that stood just feet in front of him. She was a woman he seen in his dreams. her name evaded his mind over and over as he tried to remember who she was or even how he knew her.

Suddenly it came to him. "Risky" he whispered to himself just low enough to be heard. Joshua might seem like a coward but if it came to it he was ready to fight. his weapons were hung across his back. 3 saber’s holstered in a make shift carrying case that he made himself.

Traveling along the Shadows Luncin stopped every now and then to catch his breath. He did not have the same control over the shadows as the rest of his family but he did not care at each stop he saw how the world had changed, Town and cities where torn asunder and every now and again he would catch a random city and it would be perfection these where the ones loyal to the House Of L biting his teeth as he vanished back into the shadows this would be his last jump As he reappeared he was met by the end of a giant sentinels Laser turret. It seems they had been programmed to aim at anyone who entered the ground via teleportation or other means. Clever Luncin thought to himself as the robot spoke to him “STATE YOUR NAME AND YOU BUSINNESS”  All of a sudden Luncin lost control of his body and he heard his voice but it was not him that was speaking “My name is Final Arrow and I wish to speak to Lord Gambler” he threw his hands to his mouth in utter disbelieve of what had just happened his leather gloves pressing so hard he was losing oxygen “FINAL ARROW DOES NOT  COMPUTE STATE YOUR NAME OR WE WILL USE LETHAL FROCE” Luncin was scared to take his hands from his mouth but he did “I am Luncin Arrow and I am here for the Birthday of my Leader” The Robot lowered it’s gun and let Arrow past he walked into the great halls and wondered if he should tell anyone of what had just happened.

But it was hard enough for him to be trusted round the family of Gambler even if his father was one of Gamblers best friends they where also deep rivals and in the past this had lead to much blood shed between the two being the son of the most powerful villain in the world had it’s draw backs, People saw him in what you did the little hints that no matter what you do you will forever be his son, But how had his father done it Luncin had tattoos all over his body that where in the shape of tribal markings that did not allow anyone to take over his body and shielded him from most magic attacks .His father was indeed powerful but nothing to this level he let his thoughts run as he entered the great hall where the birthday would take place the walls were decorated with stories of old. The to save Gamblers soul looking over the painting along the wall there was no reference to his father fighting Lucifer his struggle to by the team time to find his old friend. Who would want Final Arrow erased from time who ?

His thoughts where confused and wandering as he continued to walk the halls he could not help but think of his father and was it such a bad thing that he was gone. This world was perfect for the villains and Final would not have liked someone else pulling the strings. He would have sought out the being that changed the world “And I will” his voice whispered Luncin froze this was no spell his father was alive and somehow channeling himself in to Luncin his whole body froze with terror as he wondered what his father was planning no he could not keep this to himself, As a man dressed in a waiters suit walked past Luncin grabbed his arm took a glass of champagne “Can you tell the birth boy a friend is needing to talk to him”. Gambler had trained Luncin to fight and at the same time Luncin had met the son the two had a friendship but still mistrust lay in the heart of little Gambler, Then he realized why am I calling him the son that is what my father called him .

Ronin and one shot went way back. They fought beside one another on several missions back in Ronin’s CORP days. For Ronin it only made sense to get the one man he knew he could not to miss on the long shot on his team. One shot seemed on edge at the first sight of Ronin he was definitely unsure as to why Ronin came to him.  Ronin knew not to test one shot even with a gun pointed right at his face Ronin would not move in a way that would show any tension between the 2. After an exchange of words one shot handed him a spare set of clothes knowing that Ronin’s outfit he had on was a dead give away that he was indeed a hero. Ronin watched as his friend packed up his things and began to make his way out of the room and turned around just as he opened the door. “Im going to take this to the car, don’t be long my relief will be here soon get a move on and Ronin this is a hell of a way to say hi! Ronin smiled at his friend as he left the room.

Quickly Ronin took off his leather suit and any armor he had on and threw it to the floor. Within a minute Ronin was fully dressed he had on a white T-shirt and a baggy pair of blue jeans. They fit nicely as Ronin and one shot were about the same build. Once dressed Ronin grabbed up his bow and slung it over his back walking over to the window and looking out. He could see they still had Kurrent down in the Gallo’s and Ronin wanted to help him but he knew it just wasn’t the time. Quickly Ronin crawled up onto the window seal and looked down at the ground. They were far enough away from the crowd not to see him so he would be taking his exit there. Instantly Ronin leaped out the window with his arms spread in a swan dive motion. Before he could even begin to fall he quickly blinked down to street level.

Now street side Ronin slowly made his way over to one shot's vehicle and opened the passenger side door. before Ronin got in he looked at his friend one shot and smiled then saying "I’m really sorry to bring you into this man but i needed some one i could trust if things get to hot!!" after speaking to one shot he quickly hopped in the 4x4 and took his seat throwing his bow in the back. Once One-shot made his way into the 4x4 Ronin asked One-shot of he had access to the hero data base. One-shot being a high level marine quickly logged onto his lap top and handed it to Ronin. Ronin quickly scanned through the database looking for a former enemy of his. After a few minutes of searching Ronin told one shot to head to . While they drove Ronin explained to one shot what was going on and reassured him that he did have a plan.

Once in the pair of marines made there way to the hideout that the database showed on Tao Ming. When 4x4 stopped Ronin told One-shot he could come in if he wanted then turned around to see the building. The place was completely run down it didn’t look like anybody lived there in years let alone lived there now. Ronin made his way into the building and walked down a long hallway. The walls were covered with graffiti and rats scurried along the floor. There was trash bags scattered along the hallway that had been busted open allowing all the trash to fall out and onto the floor. Ronin finally stopped when he heard a brief noise on the other side of a door. Slowly Ronin opened the door. Suddenly the door flung open and a sharp blade was placed directly on Ronin’s throat.

Ronin smiled as he turned his head to face his long time rival. "Tao I want you to know that before you can even press that blade any harder my friend on the other side of the wall will have already placed a bullet in the side of your brain" Ronin said as he slowly turned his head to face Tao. Slowly Ronin raised his hand to the blade and began pushing it away from his neck.” Tao im only here to offer up a truce between the 2 of us and ask you to join the newly reformed zero squad”. Ronin carefully placed his hand out to shake hands with the man holding the blade.

After a long exchange of words Ronin convinced Tao to follow him. Ronin now had his side of the deal and would be making his way back to the make shift headquarters in the sewers below the city streets of . Hopefully risky and her squad would be there waiting on him and his new teammates. now under ground the Z team would began making their preparation for their attack on the house of L.

Same shit different day Christopher thought to himself as he stood in  the shower each water drop felt like a thousand stinging needles aimed at his skin , Christopher had only be married for over a year and he loved every moment of it, Her Name was Tlieso  Amaya  Bayushi they had dated since high school and had been prom king and queen it was like a movie they always joked but to him she was perfect. Stepping out the shower he walked into the bedroom and he could smell the morning coffee she had just made he hoped on his feet as the cold wood floor stung at his toes and popped on his trousers standing in the door way he smiled as she looked over at him. “I Love You Tlieso” she smiled and looked back at him “You say that every morning and every morning you make the same goofy smile” She walked round the table with her paper and coffee in hand. She had her suit on black with pin stripes , Walking over she kissed him and looked him in the eyes “And every morning you make me smile” rubbing her nose on his she smiled “I love you to now go get ready big day for you today Mr Partner.”

She was one of the best Graphic Designers this town had ever seen and boy was she out spoken “You see what they are doing to the Heroes now god they should have just killed them at birth” Rolling his eyes he checked out her but as she turned away to read her paper and sit down “Oh and don’t think I don’t see you checking out my ass that’s not getting ready now is it” turning around he walks back into the bed room as she shifts in her chair to check out his “Nice tot Mr Lockhart” he smiled as he changed all of this seemed like a perfect dream a great women and a great job. Christopher was one of the top Lawyers New York had ever seen if you did it he could get you off and he liked his job and the rumour round the office that it was his time to become a partner at Arrow and Final.

Tlieso smiled as she set her blackberry down next to her coffee cup, the paper in front of her went unnoticed as her thoughts turned to their wedding day. It had been straight out of a fairytale, the type of wedding you see in magazines and it had only been a little over a year ago. Shaking her head slightly she laughed quietly at herself, “I sound like a love sick school girl.” As she finished up her coffee her eyes were drawn back to her blackberry, grinning wickedly she sent yet another message.

“Good luck today!
See you in 5 hours babe!!
xoxo ”

Rising from the table she folded the newspaper and put the now empty mug into the dishwasher. As she glanced at the clock she chided herself for running late, “That's what you get for watching him in the shower instead of getting ready.” Walking quickly down the hall she grabbed her black Prada coat from the closet and grabbed her keys off the table. As she passed their wedding photo she kissed her fingertips and brought them to his handsome face. Locking the door behind her she made the brisk 5 block walk to her office.

“Good morning Mrs. Lockhart,” the trim blond behind the desk said, “You have 4 new messages and you had a delivery that I placed in your office.”

“Morning Kristy,” Tlieso said, “I wasn't expecting anything today. Do you know what it was?”

“Go look for yourself,” Kristy smiled mysteriously. Tlieso had been working with her for 3 years now and thought of her more as a friend then as her assistant. Her curiosity aroused she quickly crossed the room and entered her lushly decorated office. There it was, sitting on her granite desk was a dozen red roses in a beautiful crystal vase. Reaching for the card she flipped it over, both sides were blank. Her brow wrinkled in thought, “That's strange.” A soft chime from her pocket disturbed her thoughts, tapping the screen she read the short message.

“Like them Mrs. Lockhart?”

Smiling she quickly replied, “Love them, love you Mr. Lockhart.”

When he finally woke up he was inside what looked like an ambulance strapped to a mounted metal table. It was moving a a moderate pace and the three guards that had captured him were in the there with him. A thick leather belt was strapped over his forehead, legs and midsection. While his hand and feet were binded in cuffs. He also had an oxygen tank at his side and a mask covering his nose and mouth. From the tank came an odorless toxin that for lack of a better word shut the brains ability down to produce the use of extraordinary powers.

"We wouldn't want you to get all power company on us" says the larger guard in a demeaning tone noticing that Kurrent was flicking his fingers in an attempt to use his fingers. The guards spoke about where they would take him. One suggested a place called The Dome a place that high profile heroes were mostly taken and the one that was driving mentioned The Yard the first and largest concentration camp for heroes. He said that if they took Kurrent to The Yard and  tortured him, beat him, embarrassed him  in front of the other heroes they would lose all hope and that was something that some heroes kept in their hearts.

They stopped the vehicle and pulled it back in a heavily guarded area. When they opened the doors the light shined in and muffled voices could be heard by the detained heroes. One by one they took off the leather straps that held him in place along with the mask. Right after, they put a black cover over his head to conceal his identity from the heroes in place and pushed him out from the truck on the hot gravel on the ground causing him to trip and fall. With his hands and feet still binded they walked him over to a device that was in the very center of The Yard.

It was a torture device that they began to strap Kurrent into from the standing position. They did this by chaining his handcuff to one pole and foot cuff to the other.  After he was strapped in his arms to one pole and his legs to another. The Guards pulled off the bag cover his head and began to speak after the crowed gathered to see that it was Kurrent ....

"This is proof of how powerful the House of L is...If anybody interferes you WILL be next..."
 
The Hero tried again to flick his wrist but was not still not able to use his powers realizing that the toxin must be being distributed some other way in this location. Both the poles started moving at his side at a quick speed. His arms went to the left and his legs went to the right until his body was off the ground putting it horizontal to it about 4 feet in the air. The poles pulled away until they were not able to  move any further painfully stretching out the heroes body in the process. Kurrent bit down on his teeth trying not to give the guards the pleasure of him showing pain but that was only the first part of the torture. His body was at the point when it could stretch no longer and then the chains that where holding both set of cuffs began to rotate in different directions.

One went clockwise and the other counter until the tension reached the cuffs and his body began to rotate into an awkward position. The pain was so intense that he let out a yell from the pain and started to breath hard. Once his body was physically unable to move anymore the guard controlling the device stopped it and locked it into position. The guards waited about 5 minutes leaving Kurrent in the position he was in. His muscles cramped to the point of failure and he could see the other beaten heroes around not daring to make a move but shedding tears for him and the abuse was about to continue. The three guards that took credit for his capture all came up to Kurrent wielding baseball bats and smug grins the smallest one went to Kurrent's ear and whispered....

"you should have never shown your face around here you filthy hero"

One by one they took turns hitting Kurrent with the bats. Breaking his arms, a few ribs and shattering his knee. His back that already was bruised took more punishment. Once the hero began to spit blood from the internal bleeding they stopped and released all the tension on both of the ropes causing him to hit the ground with nothing to ease the fall. Kurrent laid on the ground beaten like never before thinking that that was his it and he was going to die but the thing about villains is too much is only the beginning...

Four heroes were forced to push out a tub that was called The Bath by the guards. The Bath was a concoction of enzymes, antibodies and a magical tonic that healed injuries in a matter of minutes. It came from the House of L so it was probably something that was developed by the Fraternity for their assassins and now it was about to be used on the hero.

The four heroes were ordered to put Kurrent inside the tub chained up but to leave his head out of it so that the wound from the brand would not heal. The smallest guard came up to him again while he was in The Bath and said in his ear again....

"You think that was bad hero, you ain't seen nothing yet"

Deep within the swears of the ‘New’ New York, lied many heroes trying to escape the power of which the villains now had over this massive city. What was in reality for only a few hours, seemed like months even years to those who have been brought into this ‘game’. Julia and her brother were one of the new mutants that The Researcher thought would make a nice fitting into his little world that seemed like an ant farm. The people of this world were the ants, and he was the kid with the magnifying glass, ready to strike down on anyone that dared to question him. Even though Julia was only 13, she had seen some things children should ever see. She watched her parents die before her, her bother go off to war and seen some of her friends almost killed. If it hadn’t been for Ronin and Risky, she would be dead as well.

Julia was fast asleep on her bed that her and her bother, Joshua, or better now known as Déjà vu made for her in their small ‘home’ inside a cramped up storage room deep within the sewers. As she slept she was dreaming of the day her parents died, it was night, dark, raining, thunder was heard outside as lighting lit up her cell, showing her to be curled up in a corner, a chain around her blue furry neck. For days she hasn’t be able to sleep, because in the dark… you hear everything… you hear sorrow, regret, pain, anger, frustration, depression, sadness, death… just hear everything…

Water began to drip down her face as she heard a sudden BOOM, with that Julia’s yellow cat eyes shot open as she sat up in a flash from her bed, gasping for air, her blue little furry face full of sweat as she turned to see her brother dash out of the room.

“J-Joshua!” She called out to him as she reached out her left arm. She wanted to go after him, but Joshua always forbid her to leave the area unless he was with her, and unless she was armed with something. Her little blue hands ran across the bed as she shift her body so that her feet were now daggling off the side of her bed. For as long as she could remember, her and her brother have been on the run living in the sewers, living off of what they could salvage from the land above. She herself didn’t mind this, as long as she was with her brother, she didn’t mind, because she knew that she was safe with him. But she wont lie, there were some days were she wished could just go up to the land and just rain havoc to the evil villains that now roamed the streets freely. Even though it was hard enough for her and her brother to walk around the streets freely when heroes ran the world, it was worse now that villains ran it.

She then heard splashes outside the storage room, and her blue elfin like ears flickered. Her and her brother never made any sound while traveling through the sewers, so that only meant one thing… someone was coming. Without a second thought she grabbed a hold of a kitchen knife that her brother got from her from above and stood up, slipping her black boots on her barer feet and ran out of the room. Using her super speed she sped through the swears, if you were to try and look at her, all you would see is a faint blue blur speeding around, her feet never touched the water because she ran across the sewage pipes, leaving her almost silent if wouldn’t have been for the air movement that was taking place while she ran. It only took her a few short seconds before she jumped up onto a swear pipe from above and clanged onto it.

She could see her brother standing there, looking out to a distance, and then she heard a familiar voice. One that of a older female. ‘Risky?’ she thought to herself as a smile formed on her face. Indeed it was Risky herself, Julia watched as Risky made her way to her brother and hugged him and began to talk to him. She decided to stay quite and listen the two. From what it sounded like, Risky was there to get both her and her bother. She didn’t know why, or who wanted them but without a second thought Julia jumped down and landed next to her brother on thick pipe that was hovering just above the swear water. The pipe shifted in movement as she stood up and looked up at Risky. “I’m already here, what’s the game plan?” She asked in excitement with a smile on her face.

Fully dressed and moments before departing to the great birthday bash. Zoom received a text message, that one of the most powerful heroes was now an inmate in The Yard.

"Kurrent." The Golden speedster says with a smile on his face. Zoom immeditatly dons the yellow and red, then blazes off towards The Yard.

 Waving in and out of traffic, and dodging people left and right. This was something he had to see with his own eyes. As the time runner pass dozens of guards he finds the electrical ace submerged in The Bath. Zoom removes his mask so that he could look at Kurrent without his shades on.

" I SEEE THHAT YOOOU GOTT THE FREE TICKET I SENT YOU. I'M GLLLLAD, YOU SEE I'VE BEEN WANTING TO SPEAK TO YOU FOR A WHILE NOW. YOUR ALWAYS SO QUICK TO RUN IN AND STOP THE BIG BAD VILLAINS. BUT I DONT KNOW IF YOU'VE ACTTUALLY TAKEN THE TIME TO LOOK AROUND. I USED TO TO BEEE JUST LIKE YOU, JUMPING THE GUN READY TO TAKE ALLLLL THE VILLAINS DOWN BECAUSE BECAUSE THEY WERE "EVIL". WELL HERO ITS NOT THAT CUT AND DRY. THE ONLY THING THE REALLY SEPARATES HEROES FROM VILLAINS, GOOD GUYS AND BAD GUYS IS ONE REEEAALLY BAD DAY! ALL IT TAKES IS ONE BAD DAY TO REDUCE THE SANEST MAN ALIVE TO LUNACY. THAT'S HOW LIFE IS, JUST ONE BAD DAY AND EVERYTHING CHANGES. NOW THE FRATERNITY IS KING OF THE WORLD AND YOU SEE THE PEOPLE LOVE US!!! THEY BUILD STATUES AND MUSEUM IN OUR NAMES. WE LIVE IN CASTLE, THE WORLD IS SIMPLE PUT A BETTER PLACE NOW. IN THIS WORLD "OUR" BAD DAY SEEMS TO BE A REALLY GOOD DAY! NOW ITS TIME FOR YOU LOSERS, TO KNOW HOW IT FEEEEEELSS...TIME FOR YOU "HEROES TO BE LOCKED UP! HERE YOUR HEROICS ARE THE PLEG, AND YOU'LL PAY FOR IT EVERYDAY. SOOOOO TEELLLL MMEEE KKUUERREENNTT IISS TTHHISS AA BADD DAY? HHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAA"

With a gust of wind Zoom was gone. Arriving at the Main hall of the House of L, smiling and ready to get his drink on. 

*The might Zee had been exploring his portion of the city like a new kid exploring his new room in his new house. He was movin at faster the sound type speeds. He had only his first pair of eyes open  exploring and learning new things of his surroundings. He had thought to himself as the heroes where taken away by others as he looked around what might actually happen to them. He thought the god that put them in this situation would at least put the info inside there minds. Zee deep thought and amazement would soon be cut off as he accidently runs into another villains territoy. He could already feel the energy change in it. He could also see the way these people looked at him as if he were trying to take over this place. They knew he were villain but usually when villains stepped into enemy terrioty unanounced its not a birthday party they are throwing it could mean war. He was smart enough to stop. Before he could even think of what to do next he would hear jets, a suit, missles all at once.*

What iz zat?

*He wondered as he peared up and saw a hero fleeing with his fellow man away from jets that had a certain symbol he thought might be from this area. He would then begin the chase following the action watching as how even though this hero had a fellow man in hand he seemed to evade death pretty easily. He could smell hero written all over this man. He was smart enough to stay away from the ground where he would draw attention. But to Zee he was dumb enough to keep to what look to be a comrade when the might dragon has found his dinner. He started to smile and reveal those teeth of his as drool started to come from his mouths. It looked to burn the ground as it touched it due to his digestive acids. He would then stop as the action stopped while he saw the foe reach incredible hieghts. It was nothing as Zee then super jumped up in the air onto the top of one building. He would due this step again to another building trying to attract the least amount of attention as possibly.*

Zthis Zhall be eazy.

*He'd say as he opened his mouth and aimed at the foe. He didn't take his time either he would start to absorb the light in the area as it started to form into what looked to be a light ball in his mouth. It would start to grow and grow and it looked like some places had even started to darken up. Zee would then use his small pair of arms and press hard and fast just one and only once to his stomach as a hard light concussive blast left his mouth heading for his foe at incredible speeds. He put alot of extra energy into this due to the fact he even shoved his back some of the building as he blasted. Looking some what like a cannon. However all in all that was Zees way of saying hi to the hero*

Descending in elevation, Bio Guyver was close enough to the buildings below. He used his Hyper Sense while flying, to detect any of his teamates that may be in danger in the ground below. He could see many people below, but not the people he was looking for. Frustrated, the W.A.L. Captain picked up the pace.

Minutes later, while looking below, something caught his attention. Just fifty feet below, Bio Guyver's Hyper senses picked up a familiar body. He never met him in person, but he was talked about by his teamates. It was Kurrent, the Mobb Deep leader. And by viewing his internal body, he could tell he was in serious conditions. He was getting terribly beaten. Those poles around him didn't look comfortable either. This was the concentration camp.

Still drifting in the air, Bio Guyver viewed some more. Four heroes brought out a tub, which was used to set Kurrent in. He was chained in the tub, but his head was visible. So, this is what the villains do to the heroes? Kurrent was in deep, and he can't be left there to be tortured some more. This was a perfect chance to move.

At accelerated speed, Bio Guyver shot downward, attempting to help out Kurrent. He lannded in the Yard, just in front of the tub. There was a small guard on the other side. He picked up a baton and jumped over the tub, attempting to swing it at Bio Guyver. In the air, Bio Guyver grabbed the small guard's wrist, twisting and breaking the bones. The guard cried, and was thrown across the yard, colliding to one of the poles.

The Guyver walked up to the tub and examined it. The chains were holding him in. Bio Guyver locked on all chains keeping him captive, and fired numerous auto tracking lasers from his head. The lasers snapped the chains, releasing Kurrent from being held into the tub. Bio Guyver pulled Kurrent's right arm and threw his body over his own shoulder. He took off in the air, before more guards would try and stop him.

Flying, making twists and turns on different streets, Bio Guyver had the feeling they were going to make it. But as soon as he thought that, what sounded like an airplane engine, made bio Guyver turn his head to look back. There were three jet planes, with House of L logos imprinted on the wings. Now, there were problems in the skies. It seemed like heroes would get captured anywhere. It's insane, heroes will fall if they go at this alone. This made things more urgent for unity.

The jetplanes fired two missles each. The roaring whistles were making its way to its intended target, the heroes. Bio Guyver needed to think quick or him and Kurrent will perish in this flight. The Captain's attention came towards a very large building. It was larger than the rest around it. Bio Guyver slowed his pace down a bit, letting the missles come towards him. Three of the missles came off course, smashing into nearby buildings. The last three missles were about to hit the two heroes. Bio Guyver held Kurrent with a better grip, spinning in 360 circles. The missles managed to miss their targets.

The missles instead bursted in contact of the building Bio Guyver was moving towards to. The missles left a large hollow opening. Bio Guyver pushed speed, moving at over 200 MPH, with the jetplanes accelerating as well. The two heroes made into the damaged building. There were explosions behind them. It was the three planes, trying to do the same thing Bio Guyver did. Coming to a wall inside the building, Bio Guyver thought fast and created a yellow, circular energy shield. The Captain wanted to press through the wall, using the shield as a cushion for Bio Guyver and Kurrent, as well as a source to break the wall.

It was successful, the two broked right through the wall with ease. Debris from the exit fell below, where armies controlled by villains were stationed in. The building behind the heroes began to rumble. With the missles and jetplanes hitting the building, the building took considerable damage and will fall into ruins eventually. Little that Bio Guyver knew, it was a hotel that belonged to the Drifter. Bio Guyver elevated once more in the red sky. It was dangerous everywhere, but it was a tad safer above way from the city.

But one thing Bio Guyver forgot is that there were still heroes in the Yard. his mind was just slipping a bit. Bio Guyver turned course and headed directly down to the Yard. He landed once more in the torture grounds.

He waited but no one seemed to come. He left a not, strapped to it was a device. The note tol to whoever came that they need to used this to track down him and rebel. He hitchhiked under one of the large tanks guarding the city. He left the tank when he was in front of The House of L it was guarded by hundreds of sentinels and would be nearly impossible to break in. He used his stealth as he smashed his fist into the back of the sentinel before it could know he was there. Dam! He pulled the red cord. The cord for ejection uh oh. He watched as flames flew from the sentinel’s feet as it began to take flight. He tried to get his hand out, but there were already about ten sentinels following them. Sh!t how the hell was he going to get out of this one. He looked back down as he and the out of control sentinel were now over 500 feet above ground. There were now about 25 other Sentinels in the sir. If he only he could fly he could improve his chances of making it out alive. Well first he would have to discard this psychotic sentinel. He pressed his feet against the robots legs and pushed. His momentum sent him flying through the air, almost as if he dived down. He aimed his direction, to on of the more stable sentinels. As he caught the robot on its shoulder its speed slowed down but it kept flying. He pushed against the airs pressure and grabbed the sentinels other shoulder. The Sentinels arms began to pound at him in effort that he would get off. However that was not about to happen. He pulled his left hand back before sending it forcefully into the sentinels back. He began to break and re-arrange the wires. Within a minute he was now in control of the sentinels firing system. He used his magnetism to make sure his hand did not leave the sentinels shoulder. With his left hand he grabbed the sentinels robotic arm as bullets zoomed out. He began to turn the arm in different directions as he shot down the other sentinels. Oh Sh!t!  Something was coming he could feel it. Within a moment the large power he sensed was in flight in front of him, it was like an upgraded Sentinel. The dam thing looked like it could blow away a city. 

The large mecha raised its arm into the air aiming it directly at Ruin and his Sentinel. Before he knew it a missile larger than two tank missiles was coming straight for him. He released his grip on the sentinel and found himself falling through the air at a rapid speed. He tried to think of someway to solve this problem but every time he thought about it he came up with only one answer. Take it like a man, as he directed his face down towards the surface, he saw something big. He only hoped it wasn't the large mecha. And thank god it wasn't. As he kept at his fast speed through the air he noticed that the large flying object was a jet. He swayed his hands in attempt to move faster. He needed to get hold of that jet. As he came closer to it, he stabbed his metallic nails into its surface. The jest was moving at about 2000 miles an hour. He looked down at the embedded words in the jet. “Property of Lebeau”. He dug his nails into that embedded phrase. Florian and Gambler were starting to get on his bad side. That was not going to be good. He held his grip as the jet moved faster, making his hair fly through the air with the wind. He could hear two pilots yelling at each other about him being on top. He used his strength to make the jet go in the direction he wanted. And that was straight for the hero holding facility. A place called “The Yard”. From all the way up in the air he could see “The Yard” and it wasn't pretty. He directed the jet into the middle of the yard. As the jet got close to crashing straight into the center field of the holding facility, his psionics detected a force field.

He would have to deactivate the force field before he hit it. He used his telekinetic power to flip every the switch on “The Yard’s” main power grid. He could sense that the force field was not up anymore. With a most devastating impact he and the jet hit the ground like a bomb. He kept his nails dug into the jet.  As the jet exploded his automatic force field went up. He removed himself from the jest and glanced around, as there were about 200 soldiers and sentinels around him. All of the soldiers were green and so did the sentinels. But there was one guy and red, he must be the general. The man walked toward. The general rose his hand in the air as the soldiers aimed their guns to the ground. He was telling them to not fire, that wasn't a good move on the general’s part. The general smiled at Ruin, Ruin did nothing but give him an evil grin.

General: Give up, quietly.

Ruin responded by shooting the general a bird Uh oh. The general released his hands as the soldiers aimed their guns at Ruin. It was odd the out of all these things he did there wasn't a scratch on him or his clothing. The soldiers began to move in. He grabbed the closes soldier with both hands. He then twisted in spiral for breaking and ripping the soldiers head off. Blood splashed everywhere. In an instant the other soldiers did not move in on him instead they fired rapidly. He raised one hand in the air as all of the bullets stopped.  As he moved his hand the bullets dropped to the ground. The soldiers watched in awe. Some of them even began to back up. There were two golden machine guns strapped to Ruin waist he drew both of them. He then spent his body in a 360 circle multiple times. As his body kept spinning he pulled the trigger of the guns as they got each soldier in the head. It was amazing that even though he was moving at a rapid speed he could have perfect aim. As he slowed down and looked around there was only one person standing and that was the general, he looked pissed. The general snapped his fingers as large mechas landed on the ground. About a dozen of them, these seemed even viler than the one that shot the missile at him. He decided it was time for his plan. He raised his hands in the air as if he was giving up, when he actually was. Two guards ran up to him, they seemed frightened of him. That was smart of them he thought. They cuffed him. The general then ran towards Ruin smashing him against the wall. Who ever this guy was he wasn't human. He forced Ruin’s body into the wall. Ruin responded to this act with a loud laugh, as if eh was enjoying pain. But that wasn't it.

General: What the hell is so funny?

Other than the fact that the by now the heroes know my location. And our probably about to come blow this sh!t hole to hell. Nothing.

The general pulled a small silver disk out of Ruin’s ear. With his hand he crushed it. It didn't matter. By now heroes had already locked down on the location. And it wouldn’t just be Mobb Deep it would be any heroes who were in for rebellion. The general stumped on the ground trying to figure out how he was going to solve this.

General: You’re a cocky one I see. I’ve got plans for you kid. Guard let him keep his power. We will show him the utmost care. Send him to the dungeon.

The guards looked at the general like he was crazy and so did Ruin. Keep his power? The Dungeon? He could only hope that he didn't get himself into something he couldn’t get out of. As the guards directed him from behind he saw Kurrent, he turned and smiled at him. It was a “I got things under control” smile. He was sent into a large wooden cave. As e was in a light activated through the cave. As a large metal door about 12 feet thick closed. There must have been something powerful in here. He kept moving through the cases as his Pi blast began to charge again. He noticed the more he moved it seemed he was getting closer to going underground. Soon he came to another door. A door made of something powerful than any material. What ever was in here was outrageously dangerous. As the second door opened he walked in and saw something that sent a chill through his spine. There were weird creatures. Enormous creature. Dragons! They seemed more vicious than anything in the fairy tales. How could the Le’Beau family be so twisted to use dragons for their own evil. The Dragons looked as if they hadn’t ate for a while, and they glanced at him like he was dinner. This place was like some underground world of dragons. Holding mystical creature was illegal. But sure Gambler didn't give a crap. There had be hundreds of the enormous creatures scattered around. About a dozen flew his way, He launched his Pi blast in hope that the beast and to his surprise…………………..

The Owl and the Pussycat had already been  in route to the Yard when they received a scrambled communications call. Kurrent had been sprung, and along with the leader of, “We are Legend,” where attempting to free the other prisoners. Several F-15 Raptors had been launched in an attempt to bring down the aerial Bio but proved useless and where easily out maneuvered by the versatile hero.

Cranking back on the throttle of his jet black Ducati  the front end elevated off the ground causing Pussycat to squeeze her arms around his waist. Two of the more lethal members of the Fraternity, The Owl and The Pussycat where inseparable. Having been trained personally by Esther Marion Cotillard  the duo had been sent to the prison camp as soon as news of Kurrent’s capture had reached the royal family. However it would appear that they to late in preventing his initial escape. But all reports still had him inside the compound and thus there was still a chance to recapture him.

As the two assassins pulled up outside the Yard they where greeted by a small contingent of soldiers in full riot gear. The Owl quickly and smoothly reached back and unsheathed his dual Vibranium katannas. Giving a slight nod to the Pussycat they charged inside. Right away Owl’s attention was drawn to a hero standing near the torture equipment dressed in what appeared to be some sort of powersuit.

Without hesitation the assassin charged across the Yard picking up speed as he went. As he closed the gap he spun around in a 360 slashing with his right hand and then followed behind that with his left. The blows where aimed for the heroes mid-section with deadly speed and breathtaking accuracy.

He woke to feeling of the warmth of the sun beating down on him. He rubbed his eyes and looked around at his surroundings.  There was a chain on his right leg restraining him to the floor. The room was old and run down. There were bricks missing from the walls and the floor was a dirt floor. The roof was well hardly a roof. It was a little bit of cowhide stretched over the top of the four walls. There were holes as big around as the chubby man who had been following him. The sun beat down on him and the ground. The dirt was dry and cracked. It reminded him of the old westerns that his mom watched when he was a kid. He was stripped of his bullet proof vest and all of his weapons. He had been stripped down to his tank top and blue jeans. He looked up and saw that the door to the room was a steel door with quarter inch bolts lining the sides. He was glad that he wasn't allergic to sunlight like most other vampires. He heard voices outside of the room. How long has he been out. "About seven hours."  Well that was one hell of a blow to the back of his head. "Yes sir." Well WHAT THE F@CK ARE YOU WAITING FOR UNLOCK THE DAMNED DOOR! He could hear the fear in the soldiers voice as he quickly unlocked the door.

The chubby man walked in along with another soldier. He must have been the one who was at the door. Samuel looked up at the chubby man and said: "You know I think I have a stalker. No offense but your a little well not little." The chubby man smirked and kicked dirt at him. "Stupid hero's. Always running your mouth. Even when you face certain defeat. The house of L is the dominate force now. They rule the land." "Hmmm stupid fat people. They will do anything for food. Are they paying you in cake?" The chubby man ran over and kicked him in the side of the head. The blow nearly knocked him out but he managed to keep consciousness. "Shut your Fukin mouth you stupid b!tch." Oh thats right I'm sorry a fat man like you its got to cookie dough right." The man shook his head and called the guards in. They walked over to Samuel and chained him up with long poles and unhooked the chains restraining him to the floor. They forced him up and forced him to walk forward. The fat man made them stop and he walked over to Samuel. "Lets see how many wise cracks you make when this is done with." Samuel looked at him then spit in his face. The fat man laughed then punched him the balls. The guards dragged him out of the room with the fat man close behind. The drug him out to a stage where people had gathered for some reason. "What the hell?" Samuel was thrown down in a chair and the guards gathered around him and held him down. The crowd began shouting things at them. Things like BRAND THAT TRAITOR! LOOK AT YOU NOW HERO! and such things like that. The chubby man walked out infront of them and quited the crowd then began to speak. Ladies and gentlemen. Today you will all get to watch as yet another hero is branded. He fell at my hands and now it shall be by my hand that he is branded." The chubby man turned around and they crowd went crazy with cheers and chants. The chubby man picked up an iron that was burning bright red.The letter on the iron was an H. The chubby man smiled as he slowly moved the iron in Samuel's direction. Samuel tried to move but the guards tightened their grip on him. He could feel the heat from the iron now. Sweat began to slowly run down his face. The iron was less then an inch from his face when he felt the guard holding his leg loosen his grip. Samuel swung his leg up in one swift motion knocking the guard back and kicking the chubby man in the face. The man dropped the iron and Samuel grabbed it and threw it at the guard loading his gun. The iron smashed into the guards eye and Samuel ran over and grabbed his gun. The chubby man ran at him and he backflipped behind him. Before the man could turn around Samuel grabbed him by the throat and used him as a human shield. The guards stopped dead in their tracks and Samuel smiled and said: "Alright now put down your weapons and toss them here." The crowd was at a stand still as the guards did as Sam said. He knocked them off the stage and pointed at one of the guards "You bring me my weapons." The chubby man nodded at him to go and get them and he did. Sam took his weapons then leaned to The chubby mans ear and said:"Next time lay off the cookies and pie and you might be able to catch me." He pulled the trigger on the gun blowing the chubby mans brains out.

The crowd took in a gasp all at one time. One of the guards shouted:He killed the sarge! Get him. The men charged at him. He ran and jumped off the back off the stage. He landed on the ground with a thud and left a small pothole in the ground. He took off with bullets right behind him. One of them hit him and flew through his leg. He ground and dragged himself into an alley. "Jesus is any one else from the team putting up with this crap."       

As Stephanie, or Nova X for now, was walking down the street, she did her best to blend with the crowd, no one made eye contact with each other, no one even looked up from the ground, everyone was looking down, as if hiding something, which she wouldn’t be surprised if they were. She kept her hands in her pockets of her trench coat. Her left hand was holding onto her WAL communicator, just incase someone out there managed to try to get a hold of each other while her right hand held onto her N.O.V.A Industries ID badge, just incase she was stopped again. She kept to herself as she walked, she allowed her long brown hair to shadow over her face, keeping it cold.

She was starting to worry, she has yet to see any members of WAL, Mobb Deep, ICE, no one… not even the villains which was worrying her even more than not seeing other heroes around. As she continued to walk she heard a familiar voice from the distance.

“Villain Registration Card?” She heard a girl speak. This caused Stephanie to lift her head up slightly to see what was going on. She saw a girl not too far away, she was standing in front of what looked like were to be ‘Police’ officers.

‘That voice...’ Steph thought to herself. ‘Sounds so familiar.’ She tried to look at the girls face, but couldn’t see it, her short black hair was covering it, making it almost impossible for her to see her face.

She then watched as one of the men began to reach for his baton, while the other one reached for his handcuffs. Stephs eyes widen as she then marched forward and yelled out. “HEY!” She started to jog over. “What are you doing?” She yelled out in a angry voice.

As Steph looked down to see the girl, it was none other than Angelic Reaper! She was in her civilian form, which is why Steph didn’t recognize her so quickly. As she had her back turned to the cops for half a second she smiled and winkedto her as she turned back to the officers. “Is there a problem?” She asked as she crossed her arms.

“Yes, this girl doesn’t seem to have a Villain Registration Card.” One of the officers said as he glared at Nova. “And I would like to see yours.”

Without any hesitation then pulled out her NOVA X ID badge and flashed it to the two men. They both looked at it with intense gazes as they then looked back at Steph and at the badge.

“N-Nova X?” They both asked in unison.

Stephanie nod her head as she then tucked her ID Badge back in her pocket. “This girl is with me, now, do we still have a problem?” She asked as she crossed her arms once more, giving each of the officers a deadly glare.

“No ma’am, you may go, sorry for holding you up.”  The second officer said as he stepped out of the way.

Steph then attempted to grab Angel by her wrist and took off walking, while walking she then explained to her what she just did, temporary taking the ID of Nova X to get around the city without being caught as a hero. When the two then made it to a small park Steph sat down on a bench and sighed. She didn’t think this was going to be so stressful. She then heard a familiar beeping noise. Her eyes lit up as she picked it up and put it on low so no other people walking around could hear the two girls and the communicator.

‘Where are your current locations? Please respond.’ It was the voice of Captain, his voice was a bit shaken and seemed overwhelmed with anger, but other than that, he seemed… ok.

Nova then looked around and looked up at Angel to keep an eye out for any cops or any form of hero hunters.

“Captain, this is Feral Nova, I am currently with Angelic Reaper, we are at…” She a paused for a moment, where WERE they? She looked over to the right as saw the cross streets. “Our current location is Between Broadway and Riverside Drive, West 190 Street and the Henry Hudson Parkway.” She then looked up to see a sign not too far away. “At Fort Tryon Park.” She said as she then closed up her communicator. She sighed as she looked back over at Angel.

“I guess we just wait now.” She said as she leaned back on the park bench only for her back to press against something heavy, Angel’s scythe! She’s been lugging it around for so long she forgot she had it with her. “OH!” Steph said as she stood up and took off her red jacket that was wrapped around her, “I think this is yours.” She said with a smile as she handed the jacket to Angel and waited for her to unwrap it before saying. “I found it back at the museum, thought you might want it back.” She then noticed some blood on her cloths, and cuts and burses all over her body. “Angel… what happened to your left shoulder?” she asked as she pointed at the direction of her wound. “Are ok?” after she would answer Steph would only sigh and sit back down on the bench, a smile crept on her face as she then turned back over to her. “Wanna play uno while we wait?” She said as she reached into one of her pockets in her pants and pulled out the uno cards.

Ronin, Tao and One-Shot all began to walk down the hallway making their exit out of the run down building that Tao once called. Once they opened the door they were taken by surprise as 6 soldiers stood at the ready aiming their weapons at the deadly trio. Quickly one-shot reacted out of shear instinct.” Sorry mate rookie mistake by me, you two Blink out I got this give me ten” shot yelled out at the pair that stood just behind him. Ronin knew that one shot had been so use to working on his own and that was why I asked Ronin to just give him ten seconds. Ronin quickly replied ten seconds marine any longer than that and were jumping in Ronin" as hey placed his hand on one shot's shoulder. Ronin then looked over at Tao and within a blink of an eye they were gone. Once Ronin and Tao came back through the portal ten seconds had passed and it seemed like WW3 had broke out. The ground was littered with bodies as one shot walked around collecting their dog tags out of honor and respect.


Now that their cover had been blown they were definitely not using the 4x4 to make their way back to the make shift hideout. Ronin quickly placed his hands out on both men's shoulder. BLINK within a flash the trio was gone without a trace but leaving the 4x4 behind. Now in the sewers the deadly trio walked through the water soaked tunnels. Water splashed below their feet as the quickly made their way to the hideout. Along the way Ronin began discussing a plan of attack with one shot and Tao. His plan seemed to be flawless and if done perfectly without error the Z team would bring the house of L crashing down. As the trio neared their last turn Ronin could hear several voices and he quickly reacted by throwing his hands out in front of his teammates and telling them to hush for a second. Ronin used his enhanced hearing to hear the voices.

Ronin could hear 3 voices one guy and 2 females. Their voices sounded very cheerful as if they were children playing in a park. Ronin looked at both Tao and one shot as they stood ready for what ever may come their way. Suddenly the voices became slower and they slowly approached their last turn. Ronin smiled as he took in a deep breath and exhaled. Its only risky and our other 2 teammates. And with that the 3 heroes made their way into the makeshift hideout. As the newly formed six pack all sat around what could be called a table Ronin began discussing his plans with his teammates. It was almost funny because as Ronin spoke and he couldn’t find the right way to explain something his co captain risky would quickly fill in. it was almost as if Ronin and risky had already made this plan from day one. The way the 2 soldiers of fate knew each other so well was astonishing.

After an hour of discussing Ronin stood up and stretched his arm's out and slowly made his way to the door. One Shot followed behind him almost like a shadow. Just as Ronin made his exit he turned around to face his team. "I want to wish you all good luck with your missions and i want to tell you im honored to have been able to call you all my fellow members of the zero squad". With that being said both Ronin and one shot made their exit. Ronin and one shot slowly made their way out of the makeshift hideout and as soon as Ronin was ready and his mind was focused he blinked both him and one shot street side. Now being street side Ronin raised his hand up to his brow in a saluting motion "it an honor to get to work with you again my friend" Ronin said as he quickly snapped his salute.

the team of the zero squad would now all go out to accomplish their missions and work as a single unit in a bigger picture.

"You have to stop resenting her Kat" He said with a smile as the comlink dropped.
She knew he said it just to mock her, she didn't much care to be honest. The gleam of the new york city lights glistened across the vizer of his helmet as he gripped the handlebars more soundly and picked up momentum. The thrill of the  ride made her adrenaline rush. They had endured so much, and were attached at the hip. After the pain they had each felt respectively, there was nothing that could break them apart. He was the only one that had been there for her when she looked death square in the eye. If it wasn't for him, she'd be rotting somplace, and never heard from again. The black Ducati raced down the paved streets and made a sharp turn off of Wall Street and onto Broadway. She smiled to herself as the bike leaned low to the ground, it's back tires spinning against the tar as it turned up and onto the ramp and made its way across the bridge. She felt a rush and gripped him closer. Not out of fear, but out of the excitement and the sheer thrill of the chase. She pressed herself tightly against his back as he picked up speed, soared up and over the ramp, pulling backwards and landing straight down against his front tire. The Cat laughed. Owl glanced quickly behind him at her, shook his head and chuckled.

They rolled toward the front entrance and a spotlight shone upon them. Rather than slowing the bike down, Owl spun the back tire out and came to a stop, leaning to his right as the Cat held onto him. They were suddenly surrounded by armed military personel carrying weapons. Owl looked at the Cat and she smiled at him as she looked toward the front entryway of the YARD where they could both hear commotion.  Owl nodded at her and raced toward the entryway of the Yard where flashing lights could be seen reflected onto the sky. The Cat watched him from the corner of her eye, and heard a gun cock suddenly. She flipped into the air and kicked upward, gripping the soldiers neck with her thighs she squeezed tightly, and flung her body 180 degrees to the right until she heard the sound of a spine shattering crack. She landed gracefully, a foot at either side of his head as the men looked on.
"I'm one of you," she said, holding both hands out and flashing a toothy grin. "Don't shoot." She said as she slipped a gloved hand into the opening of her blouse and removed her identification card. The corpse meanwhile lay motionless at her feet, she cocked a brow, looked down slightly at the dead soldier and kicked his weapon away with her right foot. Upon seeing the identification card, then soldiers slowly lowered their weapons and stared at her.
"Now if you all don't mind," she said as she raced toward Owl. With one hand against her hip gripping her whip she watched Owl mve with the greatest ease through the air aiming for the hero's midsection...

As Christopher crossed the road his phone let out that small rumble he knew who it would be from taking it out he smiled as he read, “Mr. Lockhart they are wonderful and you my man are in for a surprise when we get home” as he smiled a scream came out from behind him “THE BUS LOOK OUT” The number ten from up town was heading towards him it was out of control, In a small moment his life began to flash before him his phone bounced of the floor and across the street he threw up his hands out of instinct. But then something happened his clothes for a brief moment changed from his fine suit to a long black jacket and a black pair of trousers his body was cut with scars and he could feel a smile on his face that did not belong to him. His hands moved of their own accord and the bus exploded as it was about to hit him, He saw the faces of the passengers as the bus broke into two parts as their limbs where torn from their bodies and their flesh was boiled from the heat of the blast and by god did he like it his laugh was dark and sinister his skin was pale and his eyes o god his eyes where crimson.

Then as soon as it was over he turned back to his normal self he looked at his hands and they where tanned again his clothes had no marks and it was the suit he had put on this morning turning around he looked at the destruction behind him the bust was a morgue of twisted metal and blood, it had crashed into more cars and the body count had gone higher, The person that had warned him now looked in fear as he realsied the man he had turned into was a Villain but who he had never seen this one in the news. But what was more worrying was how much he had enjoyed watching those people die, Looking for his phone he found it smashed in to tiny parts on the road. “o god “ he ran to a pay phone and typed in her number but it was engaged “Honey it’s me something is wrong” his voice was trembling he could still feel the power brewing inside him, What was he.

“Yes, Ms. Connor. I agree that orange is a good color choice but I strongly suggest you rethink using pink as an accent. Let me try a couple different colors and I'll send ...” A blinding pain filled Tlieso's head and the phone dropped from her hand. She covered her head with her hands as if trying to block to the worst pain she had ever felt. After what seemed like an eternity the throbbing in head began to lessen and she heard a muffled voice coming from the floor.

“What the hell?” she thought as she looked down to see her phone lying on the floor. “Oh sh*t!” Quickly grabbing the phone she brought it to her ear, “Ms. Connor I am so very sorry about that. I had some interference on my end. As I was saying, I'll try a couple different styles and send them over to you to let you pick. Have a good day.”

Hanging up the phone she placed it on her desk and massaged her temples, the pain was still there but not at the same nausea inducing level is had been. Pushing back her chair she searched through her desk to find some aspirin. Finally she found them hiding under a stack of cards tied together with a satin ribbon. They were all from Christopher, she had saved every card he sent her since they first met. Smiling she placed them back in the drawer and swallowed the aspirin with a sip of coffee. As she set the mug down a blinking on her phone caught her eye. There was a message. Tlieso quickly tapped in her password and heard her husbands frantic voice.

“Honey it’s me something is wrong”

Disconnecting she quickly dialed his number and it went straight to his voice mail. “Chris, what's going on? Please call me when you get this.” Hanging up she tried his office only to be told that he hadn't been in yet today. What was going on? Where was he?

He laid in The Bath after the terrible beating he had just endured by the guards of the prison camp know as The Yard. His muscles loosen up by the second, his broken bones snapped back into place and all his cuts were gone. All of them except the brand of a letter H that was meant to represent Hero. Although his physical wounds were healing nothing could be done about the mental ones. The look on the peoples faces as he was getting tortured, all the tears that were shed, the way the world has become It was become more and more a reality.

The villain Zoom also paid the hero a visit while he soaked in the regenerative pool....

SOOOOO TEELLLL MMEEE KKUUERREENNTT IISS TTHHISS AA BADD DAY?....was the last thing he said and before Kurrent could even fathom the question Zoom was gone but the impression that was left by his words would be burned into the Heroes head forever.

With the departure of Zoom,  Kurrent was about at full health and was preparing his mind for the next round of torture when rescue attempt was already in motion unbeknown to him. It came from Bio Guyver. He was a young hero with the heart of a lion that also lead the team that was aptly named We are Legend. After making quick work of a guard the Capitan released the binds that held Kurrent and and quickly pulled him from The Bath and together the flew out of The Yard. The two heroes were chased down by House of L jets but after making evasive manuvers and taking refuge in a building in their path they found themselves clear from the attack. After a brief rest the Heroes were off again back to the yard, they couldn't just leave those heroes there.

On the way back back they were encountered by Zee Crusher who had released a light energy blast.  Kurrent had seen it coming and warned Bio Guyver who had moved out of the way of the blast which ended up hitting side of the same hotel that they were in which belonged to the villain TheDrifter. An attack like that would have resulted in an altercation between Kurrent and Zee but right now make haste back to the Yard was of the utmost importance.

About 12 feet over The Yard Kurrent was dropped inside by Bio Guyver. In the front of it and Bio would take another location. The objective started out as saving the people in their but the more Kurrent thought about it they were heroes and he had a plan.

He was back in the yard and his powers again were unavailable and was met face to face with the guard that branded him and that was whispering into his ear. He also saw Ruin Cross who was at the location but was being taken by someone. The look he gave Kurrent suggested that he knew what he was doing and Kurrent trusted he was right. The Guard was confident smiling at Kurrent we he saw that the hero had no weapon and he was armed with a baton. Kurrent quickly and unexpectedly threw a straight punch at the villains nose before he had time to react. A stream of blood shot out of the villains now broken nose as he fell back and suddenly began to laugh and say...."Your a hero that is as far as this will go, I'll hit the bath and be fine in a minute and then do the same thing your pissy about to the next Hero"

Their was commotion around The Yard as the guard tried to get the Heroes back in their cells. Kurrent walked up to the patronizing guard that was on the ground laughing and kneeled at his side. He also grabbed the guards neck and began to whisper to him...."Your right I am a hero, I will protect the world from a**holes like you until my last breath, but the funny thing about me is I don't play nice"  By this time Kurrent had one hand around the back of his head and the other under his chin, In a swift movement he moved both hands away from each other and snapped the guards neck killing him instantly.

He stood with passion in his eyes not form the killing because he took no joy in that but for what he was about to do. Suddenly an Icy mist flew at his freezing a guard that was sneaking up behind him. He look around and noticed that it came from a child that was imprisoned in the Yard. The powers were returning and Kurrent though "instead of rallying people to fight we now have an army of heroes we have to take the yard". Kurrent was a born leader and he knew that if nothing he had the respect of the heroes that had been imprisoned. From the middle of The Yard he stood with his back to the entrance. He began to speak loudly so that all could hear him and began to speak with a visible electrical stream coursing around his body......"HEROES, THE TIME HAS COME FOR US TO FIGHT BACK, LET TAKE THE YARD"

He then saw all the heroes in cages use their given abilities to escape the cells and being to combat the guards that had treated them so badly. It was an all out brawl good vs bad as it was always intended to be.  All was well until Kurrent turned around towards the front gate and saw a fleet of Sentinels and troops approaching the Yard and he thought "This isn't goign to be easy"